Advocacy Programs

WESTBROOK, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — Many kids in Maine, off for the summer, can’t wait to get back to school. It’s because, for some, it’s the only place they’ll get a reliable meal. Many Maine adults also rely on a food assistance program called “SNAP,” which the state and Governor LePage are threatening to eliminate. … Read more

PORTLAND (WGME) — Kids who get free or reduced school lunch often have to go hungry in the summer because school is out. But several local groups are coming together to make sure children in Maine have enough to eat year round. Portland Public Schools, the Maine Hunger Initiative and the United Way’s “Starting Strong” … Read more

PORTLAND — After four months of listening, the City Council Housing Committee is headed toward some starting points for policies. The committee will first cull and review data gathered at its May 25 meeting at the University of Southern Maine. The committee chairwoman, Councilor Jill Duson, said the results from queries about 135 possible areas of … Read more

It is clear that Portland is in the midst of a housing crisis … Over 100 no-cause evictions have occurred in just the past six months. People who thought they had left homelessness behind have been thrown out once again to desperately seek housing and return to the shelters … In response to this emergency … Read more

…  No-cause evictions, which have been happening with increasing frequency in Portland as buildings sell and landlords renovate, was a common concern … “Whether you’re a good or bad tenant, it makes no difference,” said Jim Devine, who lives on Congress Street and is an advocate for Homeless Voices for Justice. He said rent control … Read more

… “Our concern is that these evictions are targeting the city’s most vulnerable and its poorest tenants,” said Jan Bindas-Tenney, advocacy coordinator for Preble Street and a member of the coalition. The organization, which includes Preble Street, Homeless Voices for Justice, the Opportunity Alliance, the Portland Tenants Union, Shalom House and Catholic Charities, says recent … Read more

… As Mainers, we should be ashamed of the growing numbers of kids and seniors with empty stomachs, fewer households eligible for crucial help augmenting their meager budgets, and more and more people lining up at food pantries and soup kitchens. At Preble Street, we serve 1,200 meals each day at three soup kitchens and … Read more

… Charities rely on volunteer labor and a patchwork of organizations, each with its own rules and goals. Only the government is big enough to consistently penetrate every corner of the state and get food to the people who need it. And even if there were no gaps for people to fall through in the … Read more

Portland had the dubious distinction in the days before Christmas of topping a list of U.S. cities “going above and beyond to push the most vulnerable Americans out of the public eye during the most compassionate time of the year.” The website U.S. Uncut singled out Maine’s largest city for destroying homeless encampments along Interstate … Read more

AUGUSTA, Maine (NEWS CENTER) – Maine’s commissioner of Health and Human Services is calling on the federal government for a waiver, allowing the state to prevent food stamps from being used to purchase soda and candy. Commissioner Mary Mayhew says the new policy would improve the health of low income Mainers while strengthening the integrity … Read more