NEWS & UPDATES
Annual memorial vigil mourns deaths among homeless
Dozens turned out last Friday to honor the 43 members of the homeless community who lost their lives in 2019. For the last 25 years, people have gathered in Portland for the Homeless Persons’ Memorial Vigil, an event to mourn and pay tribute to the lives lost and to reaffirm the need to help find
Giving Voice: How to honor the memory of a homeless veteran
Along with the resources listed in this article, please visit LandlordsHelp.org to see how you can partner to give a veteran a home. *** The Brunswick community said goodbye to a dear friend last week. As most of you have already read, Russell Williams died alone under the Federal Street bridge in downtown Brunswick on
SNAP Restrictions Left This Maine Veteran Hungry for a Year
Tim Keefe found himself homeless in his tent in rural Maine. It was below freezing. He hadn’t had food in two days. “I’ve worked since I was 11. I’ve paid taxes my whole life. Now, they are denying me food stamps? I don’t understand this,” he said. Keefe is a veteran, father, and widower in
Some Mainers at risk of losing SNAP benefits
“Taking food away from someone doesn’t encourage them to look for work, it actually harms their efforts to get back on their feet.” – Heather Zimmerman, Preble Street Advocacy Director Thousands of Mainers could lose SNAP benefits next year, according to a new decision by the federal government. The Department of Agriculture made it mandatory
Trump administration tightens food stamp work requirements; hundreds of Mainers likely impacted
“We see this as a cruel punishment for people living in poverty.” — Meredith Cook, Preble Street Social Change Advocate The Trump administration is tightening work requirements for the federal food stamp program in a move that will slash benefits for hundreds of thousands of people. The rule will restrict states from exempting work-eligible adults
Stuff the Bus food drive is huge success
The 14th annual “Stuff the Bus” program was another huge success. Wednesday, volunteers unloaded buses stuffed with food items for the Preble Street Soup Kitchen and Food Pantry. It’s the largest food drive in Maine, and is put on by Bristol Seafood and radio station “Rewind 100.9.” Thanks to your generosity, several tons of food
Anti-trafficking service awarded $500,000
The Department of Justice awarded $100 million to help victims and combat human trafficking across the country. Preble Street’s Anti-Trafficking Services will get $500,000 over a three-year period. Those services have already helped 200 people in Maine since it began in 2013, according to Preble Street. In the last year, staff saw a 20% increase
Initiative focuses on those in grip of trafficking, hidden in plain sight
Preble Street is striving to raise awareness of sexual and labor exploitation and help survivors reclaim their lives. Myriad obstacles stand in the way of well-being and independence for the people Preble Street serves. But for few are the barriers as brutal as for the survivors of human trafficking with whom Preble Street Anti-Trafficking Services works.
Maine works to end homelessness among veterans
So far this year 450 veterans and their families have been served at Preble Street, according to Executive Director Mark Swann. Twenty-five of those veterans entered the shelter system across the state due to homelessness. Preble Street, with the help of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion,
Some Maine families at risk of losing food stamps
A rule change from the Trump administration could knock thousands of Maine families, seniors, and people with disabilities off food stamps. Meredith Cook of the Preble Street Maine Hunger Initiative says the proposed rule jeopardizes other federal benefits like free and reduced lunches. “Many families are directly certified into the school lunch program based on
Among those helping Maine’s new arrivals: Other immigrants
A pot of turkey and tomatoes, stewed with turmeric, needs stirring. The plantains are prepped, along with fish spiced with garlic and ginger. At Preble Street, a social service agency in Portland, Maine, fans meant to cool the kitchen’s heat amplify the aroma. On a recent afternoon, a handful of volunteers cooked 600 meals to
Preble Street Helps Identify Crime of Human Trafficking
Human trafficking is not a new crime, but it has recently prompted heightened attention and action among social services, legal services, law enforcement, and the general public. Human trafficking victims/survivors are forced or coerced — through sexual, physical, psychological violence, and/or torture — to perform a variety of labor including sex work, domestic services, childcare,
