AUGUSTA – More than 6,000 Maine residents will lose their food stamps benefits next month under newly enforced rules that require some recipients to have a job, Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Mary Mayhew said. Republican Gov. Paul LePage’s administration began in October to enforce a three-month limit on benefits for childless adults … Read more
Advocates for the homeless in Portland, Maine, marched through the city today to plead for better access to public transportation. The annual event, organized by Homeless Voices for Justice, was created six years ago to highlight a particular challenge that impacts the city’s 3,000 homeless residents. Marching alongside a cutout of a cardboard bus, the … Read more
PORTLAND, Maine – Advocates for Maine’s poor and homeless say changes to MaineCare are leaving many clients without reliable transportation, and that the results can be catastrophic for some. Until a few months ago, Maine Care provided clients with regular appointments with unlimited monthly bus passes; but now, the state contracts transportation to several companies … Read more
Portland’s Homeless Persons Annual Memorial Vigil sponsored by Preble Street Resource Center, Mercy Hospital and the city of Portland will take place Christmas week. Monday, Dec. 22, is a time to remember the homeless who have died and to recommit to the task of ending homelessness, according to Preble Street. A candlelight procession will start … Read more
…Preble Street earned the top rating of the 43 nonprofit groups in Maine rated by Charity Navigator, with a score of 99.17 out of 100. Preble Street operates with a $9 million budget, running homeless shelters and a food pantry in Portland, as well as various programs to help low-income and mentally ill people… … Read more
… Donna Yellen, chief program officer for Preble Street, said that since the federal government put the state on notice, there has been no evidence that the state has done anything to clarify its policy. "We are still hearing from people who are asking, ‘Do we have to have a photograph?’" Yellen said. "It’s still … Read more
PORTLAND – It took two votes, but city councilors on Monday approved a new Portland Public Library policy allowing security staff to give trespass orders to unruly patrons. The new policy adds three constable positions beginning Jan. 1, 2015, despite warnings from homeless advocates the policy will unfairly target some of the city’s most vulnerable … Read more
… Representatives of the Food and Nutrition Service – a division of the USDA – visited Maine the week of Aug. 18. During the visit, they met with state officials, SNAP recipients, retailers and advocacy groups in Portland, Ellsworth and Bangor. One of those meetings was held at the Preble Street Resource Center in Portland. … Read more
PORTLAND, Maine – For one final time, protestors picketed outside the Department of Health and Human Services building in Portland. They object to plans to move the facility to a new structure in South Portland. John Monahan, an advocate for the group Homeless Voices for Justice, says it’s still a bad idea, but given last … Read more
… Homeless advocates, however, argued that homeless people and minorities would become the targets. Jim Devine, an advocate for Homeless Voices for Justice, said the library is part of the "safety triangle," which also includes the Preble Street Resource Center and the Oxford Street Shelter. "Even if this policy change is not intended to target … Read more