Hunger and homelessness are on the rise in our state this winter, leaving thousands of our fellow Mainers without enough food and without shelter or housing. As unsheltered homelessness grows, so does the rise of police interactions as these neighbors of ours are penalized for conducting activities essential to daily living, like sleeping, sitting, or … Read more
For anyone paying attention over these last few years, it’s become abundantly clear that emergency shelters for people experiencing homelessness are an important part of the public health infrastructure. Shelters didn’t close during the pandemic. Shelter staff and our partners in the healthcare industry did not work remotely. We stayed open, and, in many cases, … Read more
Steve “Boomer” Littlefield is 67 years old. For 45 of those years, he experienced chronic homelessness and alcohol use disorder, sleeping mostly outside after some bad experiences in shelters. He survived the frigid Maine winters and nights thanks to his resourcefulness and a sleeping bag that protected him down to -65 degrees. He and hisfriends … Read more
