Q: I run a shelter for homeless teens. I’m thinking about moving to a “low-barrier” approach to working with youth, meaning that we won’t turn young people away because they’ve been drinking or using drugs. How can I get staff to buy into this change? A: Ingrained in every good youth worker is the idea … Read more
PORTLAND – Facing more than $3 million in funding requests, the City Council will have to make difficult choices April 9. That’s when councilors will vote on City Manager Mark Rees’ proposal for distributing about $1.8 million in federal Community Development Block Grants. Rees is recommending that the money be spent on a variety of … Read more
PORTLAND, Maine — Teenagers arrive at Preble Street’s Teen Center or Lighthouse Shelter for a wide range of reasons. Abuse, sexual abuse, trouble with the law, family crises. But once they show up, none are turned away. “Anybody under 21 who walks through our doors can get their basic needs met,” said Chris Bicknell, director … Read more
From an aching back to an aching life. How do we combat the ‘slings and arrows of outrageous fortune’ that bring discomfort to our bodies? Our guests include Dr. Mike Totta of the Spine Center at Orthopedic Associates Dr. Bob Lynch of Lynch Chiropractic Arts Center Chris Bicknell Coordinator of the Teen Center and Lighthouse … Read more
PORTLAND, Maine — The planning board on Tuesday gave approval for the relocation of a shelter for homeless teenagers and runaways from a breaking-down apartment building at 65 Elm St. to a former office building a few blocks away at 38 Preble St. The wide-ranging homeless advocacy group Preble Street — which runs a soup … Read more
PORTLAND – It’s become a nearly daily ritual for the homeless youths in Maine’s largest city — a lottery to see who gets a bed and who doesn’t. "Four out of five nights, we’re turning young people away," said Mark Swann, executive director of Preble Street, a non-profit agency that runs the city’s only shelter … Read more
PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — Preble Street is hoping to move its homeless shelter for teens. But first, it needs approval from Portland’s planning board. A workshop was held on the proposed move of the Lighthouse Shelter Tuesday afternoon. Preble Street says the current shelter is in a building with a crumbling foundation and it … Read more
Mark Swann, Executive Director of Preble Street, discussed teen homelessness, plans to move the Lighthouse Teen Shelter to a larger, safer facility, and the challenges that have arisen due to the recent closure of the Milestone shelter with NewsCenters’ Cindy Williams.
More nights than not, teenagers looking for a place to sleep are turned away from Preble Street’s Lighthouse teen shelter. The teen facility, on Elm Street, can sleep 16 people. But because of limitations with the existing shelter layout, and rules requiring people of different ages and genders to be separated, some kids get turned … Read more
PORTLAND – Sixteen individuals have been honored by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for outstanding service to crime victims. The annual awards were presented Friday in conjunction with National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, according to a media release issued today by U.S. Attorney for Maine, Paula Silsby. The award recipients were: Sheriff Donna Dennison and Detective … Read more