…"The state has not lived up to its responsibility to help people with severe mental illness," said Mark Swann, the executive director of Preble Street, a Portland nonprofit that provides assistance to the homeless.
Some also point to the state’s successful efforts to trim the number of people who receive health coverage through MaineCare, the state’s Medicaid program. The state’s elimination of eligibility for childless adults in 2014 left hundreds of people without treatment options for their substance abuse or mental health issues, advocates say. City shelters saw an increase in the number of people with mental illness turning to the shelter system, said Jon Bradley, associate director of Preble Street …
