Update June 4:
The attempt to pass a moratorium on shelters in Portland needed 7 City Councilor votes to pass as an emergency measure. It failed by one vote. Now we have a tougher road ahead. This Monday, June 7, the Portland City Council will vote again to institute a moratorium on emergency shelters in the Bayside neighborhood of Portland, and they need only a majority vote to pass. We need you to continue to call and email the Portland City Council and tell them to vote NO on this moratorium!

The numbers don’t lie, and now is NOT the time to add barriers to safe shelter access. 

• This is a public health issue! Shelters are an important part of the public health infrastructure and are key to the community’s health, not just the health of the people staying there
• CDC guidance is for homeless shelters to continue masking and practicing COVID prevention measures because individuals and families experiencing homelessness are among the most vulnerable
• There are currently dozens of unsheltered people in Portland, and over 400 individuals and families sheltered temporarily in nearby hotels
• In Maine, there has been an 84% increase in veteran homelessness alone since the pandemic began
• The pandemic and affordable housing crisis have extended the amount of time it takes to connect people experiencing homelessness to housing from an average of 86 days to an average of 163 days

We want Portland to continue to be the kind of city that cares for its unhoused citizens. Slowing the development of shelters in Maine will do nothing but put our most vulnerable neighbors in harm’s way and keep them disconnected from services. People experiencing poverty and homelessness will continue to suffer, our parks and sidewalks will be filled with people who are unsheltered, and the tragic cycle will just grow and continue.

Please share with your networks and contact the City Council! Thank you for joining us in this effort to protect the people we serve.

Portland City Council Contact Info

207-874-8648
council@portlandmaine.gov