NEWS & UPDATES
Zoning question on Portland ballot would make an imperfect process much worse
When it comes to ballot initiatives, things are not always what they seem. That’s the case with Portland’s Question 2, which would change zoning rules in a way that would lock people out of the process, freeze investment, tangle our city with lawsuits and throw us into chaos for years to come. Portland’s Question 2
Medicaid expansion can help Maine’s homeless veterans access care
Refusal to expand Maine’s Medicaid program has left many homeless veterans to suffer in shelters and on the street. Maine has the fifth highest per capita population of veterans in the nation, and Medicaid is essential for veterans. Yet we have repeatedly turned our backs. Veterans are more likely to experience homelessness than the overall population, and
Maine Voices: Those trapped by human traffickers can benefit from Preble Street program
A recently published article (“Trafficking victims turn to hotline with pleas for help,” Oct. 1) spoke to the horrors of human trafficking and the important efforts of the National Human Trafficking Hotline in reaching survivors. The highest volume of calls coming through the hotline originate from big cities, but trafficking can and does happen everywhere, to women
New research released on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
New research was released today on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, to better understand the effects the program has on Mainers. Two organizations, Maine Equal Justice Partners and Preble Street, partnered to survey families around the state. The report written by a University of Maine Professor found 62-percent of respondents said they would
New housing complex offers home to homeless
Some members of Portland’s homeless population now have a place to call home. Preble Street officially opened the third complex of its Housing First initiative: Huston Commons, an apartment complex designed to help the chronically homeless by providing a permanent place for them to live. Huston Commons houses 30 people who have been living on
Apartment complex for chronically homeless people opens in Portland
Avesta Housing and Preble Street have opened Portland’s third “housing first” program, Huston Commons, which is now home to 30 formerly homeless individuals with chronic health challenges. Located near Morrill’s Corner at 72 Bishop St. in Portland, Huston Commons was named for Steve Huston, a former Preble Street employee who experienced and overcame homelessness and
Cutting programs to help the poor doesn’t eliminate poverty
The LePage administration likes to tout how it has reduced the number of people who receive social services in Maine. If fewer people get government help, the thinking goes, the problems that caused their need for help also have been magically eliminated. Data show this isn’t true. Take hunger. A new report from the U.S. Department
Feeding Rural Kids Still Challenging, Even As Maine Expands Summer Meal Program
Nearly half of all kids in Maine qualify for free and reduced-price lunch at school. During the summer months, when school is out, there haven’t been a lot of options for those families – but that’s starting to change. In the past ten years, the number of summer meal sites in the state has more
Bank foundation providing $300K to fight Maine homelessness
A more than quarter of a million dollar grant is being given to Preble Street Resource Center in Portland- money that the non-profit’s staff say will help end the cycle of chronic homelessness for many people. The KeyBank Foundation is giving $300,000 to Preble Street over the next three years. The money will help bolster
KeyBank donates $300,000 to Preble Street
Preble Street, a Portland nonprofit focused on reducing homelessness, will receive $300,000 from KeyBank’s charitable arm. KeyBank Foundation will make the grant over three years. The donation is part of a Key’s National Community Benefits Plan, which will commit $16.5 billion to community development and investment over five years. The plan will cover Key’s 15-state
Maine Voices: Breakfast After the Bell is the way mornings should be for Maine students
On Maine beaches this week, children build sandcastles, jump on skim boards, chase seagulls and collect sand dollars. Summer in small-town Maine is idyllic, complete with parades, fireworks and family cookouts. Often, though, by the sea not all is as it seems. Camouflage is how nature keeps the peace. The rust-colored lobster can be impossible
Maine Voices: Nonprofits’ second-in-commands are leaders in shaping communities
On a fairly regular basis, I am urged by a well-meaning friend or supporter of Preble Street to run the agency “more like a business.” And from conversations with other nonprofit executives, I’m quite certain I’m not the only one getting that advice. It drives me crazy to hear that. Of course we run the
