A bold step forward in the fight against hunger

“This place is just amazing. And thank goodness it’s ready for business. The timing for the opening of this Food Security Hub could not be better. With federal cuts to emergency food assistance and healthcare chipping away at the safety nets that help many people in our community stay fed, healthy, and housed, we collectively need … Read more

Staff highlight: JB – “I can’t think of anything I’d rather have done.”

Preble Street staff are #CompassionInAction, and we want you to get to know them! This month we’re introducing you to JB Carson, Veterans Housing Services Program Assistant  Name, title, and program: JB, Program Assistant, Veterans Housing Services (VHS)  How long have you worked at Preble Street? I’ve been here for 12 years.  What is a … Read more

Brian’s Story

Sitting at a table at the Recuperative Care Program (RCP), Brian lays out pages of his art. “I’m working on making a children’s coloring book,” he says. Most of the pieces he has laid out are of captivating coastal scenes featuring birds, boats, and buoys. The longer you look at each page, the more you’ll … Read more

An invaluable community connection

Preble Street’s work is never done in isolation. We are continuously making connections with other social service providers and nonprofits to better serve clients and the needs of the community. This month, we are highlighting a key partner of Preble Street Rapid Re-Housing Services and Veterans Housing Services, Trinity Jubilee Center.  Serving over 5,000 people … Read more

Staff highlight: Richard Kepler — “Having the goal and willingness to love people”

Preble Street staff are #CompassionInAction, and we want you to get to know them! This month we’re introducing you to Richard Kepler, Housing Support Staff at Florence House  Name, title, and program: Richard Kepler, Housing Support Staff (overnight shift), Florence House   How long have you worked at Preble Street? It will be nine years at the end … Read more

5 things to know…about recent federal efforts to criminalize homelessness

Person sleeping on sidewalk

If ensuring the basic human rights of people who are vulnerable and struggling in our community is important to you, right now is a critical time to speak up and out.  In the last few weeks, the White House has issued a directive to forcibly remove people experiencing homelessness from Washington, D.C., and an executive … Read more

5 years of “social work without walls”

When someone is focused on day-to-day survival, there is little time to attend to long-term goals. Accessing the limited available resources requires sorting through a convoluted web of systems and can be impossible to navigate alone.  Every day for the past 5 years, the small but mighty Street Outreach Collaborative (SOC) at Preble Street works … Read more

Friends of Joe

Joe Kreisler & Friends

Give Hope. Every Month. Every day, people in Maine face hunger, homelessness, and poverty. By joining the Friends of Joe monthly giving circle, you provide consistent, reliable support that ensures no neighbor is left out in the cold. Neighbors like Sarah*, a single mother who relies on the Preble Street Food Pantry to make healthy … Read more

Basic Needs −> Shelter −> Long-term Solutions

50 years ago, Joe Kreisler founded Preble Street as a real-world training ground for his students at the University of Southern Maine and a place for Portland’s most vulnerable residents to receive basic services—meals, clothing, bathrooms, etc.—and to connect to resources for healthcare, mental health treatment, employment, and more. “I am a human being. Part … Read more

With a little help from our friends

The work we do to empower people experiencing homelessness, hunger, and poverty is never done alone. We are continuously making connections with other social service providers and nonprofits to better serve clients and the needs of the community. From our decades-long collaboration with Avesta Housing for our housing programs to our new partnership with Maine … Read more