Every food box from the Preble Street Food Pantry tells a unique story. Each item inside a food box can tell you something about the person or family who it’s going to, what they might like to eat, and even possibly something about their heritage and culture. Kale is one vegetable that goes into many of our … Read more
There are Maine Veterans across the state experiencing homelessness, sleeping outside, living in their cars, couch surfing, and sleeping in shelters. This is not the way Maine should be. Mainers are united in the belief that no Veteran should have to endure the struggle of homelessness. To reach the goal of ending Veteran homelessness in Maine … Read more
“You can be the best doctor in the world… have a photographic memory and memorize every type of medication. But, if your patients aren’t getting their basic needs met outside of the clinical environment, if they don’t have housing or shelter, if they don’t have access to food, it’s really, really hard to treat them … Read more
How did you first get involved with Preble Street? My first experience working with Preble Street was volunteering at their former soup kitchen in downtown Portland. I volunteered many times with my daughters while they were in middle school and high school. I also volunteered several times with colleagues prior to joining OneAmerica Financial. The … Read more
“I’ll say it 1000 times over, the VA saved my life,” shares Ron. Ron is a former U.S. Marine. He currently lives at a residential facility in Lewiston, Maine, operated by Veteran’s Inc., a nonprofit that provides support services to Veterans and Veteran families across New England. They are a trusted partner of Preble Street, working … Read more
The Street Outreach Collaborative (SOC), Preble Street’s mobile outreach team, focuses primarily on people experiencing unsheltered homelessness, with the highest need. The SOC drives around Portland in a blue, Preble Street branded van, (you’ve probably seen it!) looking to meet basic needs and distribute nutritious meals to people. Basic needs are the foundation for a … Read more
What does a low-barrier shelter look like? At a time when unsheltered homelessness is increasing exponentially in our community and the shortage of low-barrier shelter beds has created a state-wide homelessness crisis, Elena’s Way and Florence House are a model for how we can take care of the most vulnerable people in our community. The … Read more
The sun is peaking through the clouds on an overcast March day, and boots can be heard squishing and squealing in the muddy ground. The Preble Street Teen Services team move furniture into the building that will become Preble Street’s new site-based Transitional Living Program (TLP) for youth in Biddeford. The staff smiles and laughs, as … Read more
Low-barrier shelters receive funding for the next three years… On April 22, 2024, Governor Janet Mills signed the supplemental budget into law, which includes three years of $2.5M in annual funding — a total of $7.5M — to directly support emergency low-barrier shelters. This funding will be incredibly impactful for Maine’s five privately operated, low-barrier … Read more
“Just having a safe space for somebody to enter into and have a conversation as well as get their basic needs met is so essential for relationship building.” Andrew Volkers (he/they), COVID-19 Mitigation Coordinator Andrew Volkers works at the Maine Medical Center-Preble Street Learning Collaborative, the Learning Collaborative for short, which provides low-barrier healthcare, care … Read more
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The mission of Preble Street is to provide accessible barrier-free services to empower people experiencing problems with homelessness, housing, hunger, and poverty, and to advocate for solutions to these problems.
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