PORTLAND – More than 50 people turned out Thursday night for a public hearing on homelessness as a city task force works toward a strategic plan that reflects “the heart of the community.” The hearing in the Portland Public Library’s Rines Auditorium was the first held by the city’s Task Force on Homelessness, which was … Read more
Foreclosures and unemployment are pushing middle class and low-income Americans out of their homes, and emergency shelters and food pantries are seeing record increases in demand for their services. Yet some recent reports suggest that homelessness is not increasing significantly. This is due to both flaws in the data they rely on and the narrow … Read more
Recently selected for summer placements in nonprofits throughout Maine’s midcoast, this year’s Community Matters in Maine fellows gathered recently to hear more about what to expect from the best source: alumni of the program. The students selected for the program met in Adams Hall with last year’s fellows Dan Peckham ’12 and Amar Patel ’13. … Read more
How do childhood events impact the health of an individual–or a community? How can we best “reap what we sow” when it comes to nutrition? All this and more on our autumn-themed “Harvest” show. This week’s guests included Julie Alfred Sullivan, Public Health Director for the City of Portland (Maine), Dr. Richard Maurer of Coastal … Read more
PORTLAND — Not a single day goes by without someone asking me about, or complaining to me about "people from away." There is a solidly entrenched, pervasive myth that poor and homeless people from all over America are flocking to Portland because we’re "too generous." This perception has been the subject of discussions among business … Read more
Portland’s social service providers are scrambling to meet new federal guidelines due to be take effect Monday, saying an already serious situation with homeless shelters in the city is about to get worse. Beginning Nov. 1, changes to federal reimbursement claims for certain facilities that provide refuge for the city’s homeless will force two local … Read more
PORTLAND — The Preble Street Resource Center is accustomed to helping the homeless navigate local and state bureaucracies to get the assistance they need. Much of that help comes through either local general assistance programs, or through the state’s Department of Health and Human Services – systems the center knows well. But there is a … Read more
With burgeoning developments, inflating rents and increased competition over housing in Portland, it’s the city’s homeless population who stand to suffer, according to some affordable housing advocates. Since 2006, downtown Portland has lost over 100 affordable, rental homes without replacement, including 60 homes for women at the YWCA, seven apartments at 660 Congress St., and … Read more
PORTLAND – Will I ever find a home? Is there any way to end homelessness? This month marked the first anniversary of an event that answered those questions with a resounding "Yes!" It was the anniversary of the day Preble Street welcomed homeless women home for good to Florence House, the comprehensive woman’s center on … Read more
PORTLAND – At the far end of the city’s industrial waterfront, over a 7-foot-tall snowbank, across the railroad tracks and behind a patch of trees and frozen brush, Susie Whittington and Sandy Brown saw footprints heading along the riverbank. "Hello!" Whittington called out as she trudged through knee-deep snow. "Homeless outreach. Anyone out here?" About … 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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