PORTLAND – Affordable housing, emergency shelters, supported living and police profiling were among the issues tackled by six City Council candidates during a forum Thursday at the Preble Street social service agency. They weren’t abstract concepts to those who attended. All were homeless, had struggled with homelessness or worked in the shelter. The "You Don’t … Read more
PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — People who work with the homeless in the Greater Portland area are mourning a man they say fought tirelessly for people struggling with homelessness, poverty and addiction. 53-year old Steve Huston died unexpectedly at his home in Portland in last Thursday. Like many of the people he advocated for, Huston … Read more
PORTLAND – Independent Angus King and Democrat Cynthia Dill told members of Portland’s homeless community Thursday that they want to improve access to affordable housing and protect the social safety net. The event was sponsored by Homeless Voices for Justice and the Preble Street social services agency. King and Dill toured the agency’s facility downtown … Read more
Talk about timing. The Republican-inspired Commission to Study the Conduct of Elections in Maine last week held the first of eight public hearings aimed at ferreting out fraud in Maine’s election system. At the same time, Maine’s GOP continued waging war with itself over charges of fraud in the election of the state’s delegates to … Read more
PORTLAND, Maine – The mayor of the city of Portland said the city’s homeless shelters are over capacity on a nightly basis. Mayor Michael Brennan said the problem is so bad people are sleeping in chairs or are being turned away from shelters. "We even have an overflow shelter for our overflow shelter, and we’re … Read more
PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) – Officials in Portland say they are seeing some troubling numbers when it comes to homelessness in the city. At Oxford Street shelter the beds are empty during the day. But several hours before it opens for the night, people will begin lining up in hopes of getting one of the … Read more
It would be a mistake to view Portland’s shortage of homeless shelter beds as just a shortage of beds — or just a problem for Portland. The city is dealing with failure to address serious underlying problems in our economy and social service safety net that won’t be solved with more capacity at the homeless … Read more
PORTLAND – The City Council voted Monday night to reject a proposed ordinance that would have prevented panhandlers from standing on city streets’ median strips. The proposal failed 6-3, with support only from Mayor Michael Brennan and Councilors Ed Suslovic and John Coyne. The council’s Public Safety, Health and Human Services Committee unanimously endorsed the … Read more
PORTLAND – Homeless advocates are opposing a proposed ordinance that would prevent panhandlers from standing on median strips in the city. The proposal — scheduled to go before the City Council today — would make homeless people less visible but won’t address the issues that cause them to live on the street, said Betsy Whitman, … Read more
Here in Portland, housing in general can be difficult to find. Securing affordable housing is practically impossible. Homeless Voices for Justice, a grass-roots group I work with, has continually advocated for affordable and accessible housing — fair housing. I have personally heard Portland referred to as a "no-housing city." This already dire situation has been … Read more
