Today, Governor Mills is presenting her State of the State Address and shared her priorities for addressing homelessness and building more housing. In her remarks, Governor Mills wrote, “Whether a person is experiencing homelessness or transitioning to a new life in our state; whether a person is retired or working full time or looking to rent an apartment in a rural town or to purchase their first home in a city — there should be a place for that person in Maine.”

Governor Mills proposed $16 million in her forthcoming supplemental budget proposal for the Emergency Housing Relief Fund to ensure that winter warming shelters, lower barrier shelters, longer term shelters and transitional housing programs can remain open, operating, and supporting the emergency housing needs of Maine people.

Preble Street thanks Governor Mills for including funding for Maine’s emergency shelters, especially for Maine’s five critically important low-barrier shelters, which are in crisis. Low-barrier shelters play an essential role in the continuum of care for the chronically homeless and are the first step towards Site-based Housing First and more stability. We appreciate this support as it will provide much-needed stability in the short term for low-barrier shelters and the vulnerable clients we serve.

Looking forward, Preble Street and other low-barrier shelter providers will continue to face substantive shortfalls without more sustained, annual funding and will continue to pursue additional revenue sources, including through opioid funding at the state, county, and local municipal levels. We can’t afford to have any of Maine’s low-barrier shelters close their doors.