TOMORROW, March 17, the Maine State Committee on Labor and Housing will vote whether to send LD 211: An Act to Support Emergency Shelter Access for Persons Experiencing Homelessness to the full legislature. This critical legislation would allocate $3 million in additional funding to homeless shelters in Maine, allowing them to provide life-saving services to the most vulnerable people in our state. We need YOU to contact members of the Labor and Housing Committee and urge them to vote “ought to pass”!
Email members of the Labor and Housing Committee and ask them to pass LD 211:
- Senator Joseph Rafferty (Chair) –Joseph.Rafferty@Legislature.Maine.gov
- Senator Stacey Guerin – Stacey.Guerin@legislature.maine.gov
- Senator Dave Miramant – David.Miramant@legislature.maine.gov
- Rep. Mike Sylvester (Chair) – Michael.Sylvester@Legislature.Maine.gov
- Rep. Dave Bradstreet – Richard.Bradstreet@Legislature.Maine.gov
- Rep. Scott Cuddy – Scott.Cuddy@Legislature.Maine.gov
- Rep. Gary Drinkwater – Gary.Drinkwater@Legislature.Maine.gov
- Rep. Traci Gere – Traci.Gere@Legislature.Maine.gov
- Rep. Joshua Morris – Joshua.Morris@Legislature.Maine.gov
- Rep. Sarah Pebworth – Sarah.Pebworth@Legislature.Maine.gov
- Rep. Dwayne Prescott – Dwayne.Prescott@legislature.maine.gov
- Rep. Amy Roeder – Amy.Roeder@Legislature.Maine.gov
- Rep. Sofia Warren – Sophia.Warren@Legislature.Maine.gov
Draft email (please personalize yours as this will have a bigger impact):
Subject: Vote Ought to Pass on LD 211: An Act to Support Emergency Shelter Access for Persons Experiencing Homelessness
Dear distinguished member of the Committee on Labor and Housing,
My name is _____, and I am resident of _____. I am urgently asking you to vote in support LD 211: An Act to Support Emergency Shelter Access for Persons Experiencing Homelessness. This critical legislation would allocate $3 million in additional funding to homeless shelters in Maine, helping them provide their life-saving services to our most vulnerable neighbors.
(Insert your personal story, comments, thoughts)
The shortage of affordable housing, a lack of mental health and substance use disorder services, and the COVID-19 pandemic have created a crisis in Maine, forcing more people experiencing homelessness to go unsheltered, in sometimes life-threatening temperatures, without a safe place to stay.
When individuals cannot access emergency shelter, it prolongs the amount of time they are homeless. This leads to worse overall outcomes for those individuals, added strain on our public health system, and more financial costs to our communities due to increased use of emergency services.
For these reasons, I am asking you to vote in support of this much needed bill so that everyone can access safe and dignified shelter.
Thank you for your time,
_____ (your name)
Thank you for supporting your fellow Mainers!
