Press Release

PORTLAND, ME [June 15, 2009] On the Summer Solstice, Friday, June 19 from noon - 1:00pm, Preble Street Homeless Voices for Justice will gather in Monument Square, downtown Portland, to increase community awareness of homelessness in the summer in Maine.

The Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year, and it is also the longest day of homelessness.

Speakers at the rally between 12:30-1:00pm will include:

• Dee Clarke, Homeless Voices for Justice Advocate
• A veteran who stayed at the Preble Street Women’s Shelter
• A teen struggling with homelessness

Homelessness is just as deadly in the summer as in the winter, and contrary to popular conceptions, the summer months bring an increase in homelessness in Maine. Following the national trend, summer in Maine also brings an increase of targeted violence that victimizes those who are homeless.

This summer, in particular, threatens the well-being of Maine citizens living in poverty as the cost of meeting basic needs—food, transportation, medicine—escalates dramatically. Reflecting the fact that Maine is experiencing one of the three highest rates of growth in the nation among people who are food insecure, Preble Street has been serving record breaking numbers of children, adults, and families at the Soup Kitchen and Food Pantry.

The Summer Solstice Rally is a “bookend” event to Preble Street’s Homelessness Memorial Vigil, held every Winter Solstice, remembering those in our community who have passed away in the previous year on the longest night of the year.