NEWS & UPDATES
Maine Homeless Veterans Committee Delivers Annual Update on Vet Homelessness
The Maine Homeless Veterans Action Committee delivered its annual update on the state of veteran homelessness Wednesday. An estimated 278 veterans became homeless last year in Maine. 192 of them were housed by local organizations. Data was collected from emergency shelters and community volunteers to create a better understanding of who the homeless are as
Our View: Addiction, homelessness must be fought together
Whether a person is homeless as a result of a spiraling drug problem, or abusing drugs to cope with life on the street, homelessness and addiction are inexorably linked. Feeding off each other, and on what is perhaps the most vulnerable population, they cause a tremendous amount of suffering, and fuel a public health crisis
New bill aims to fight opioid addiction by tackling homelessness
There’s a new initiative to fight Maine’s opioid crisis that focuses on tackling homelessness. See more…
Marchers remember the 40 homeless people who died in Portland area in 2017
Forty homeless people died in Greater Portland this year and Nancy McKeil has a solemn message for those fortunate enough to have a home and warm bed to sleep in this winter. “It should never happen,” said McKeil, who lives in Section 8 housing in Portland. “No one should ever have to be homeless.” McKeil
We’re reversing opioid overdoses, but we’d rather help people change
I’ve worked at Preble Street in Portland, Maine, for 26 years and never thought I’d see the day when our social workers are reversing opioid overdoses on a regular basis. In my first 22 years here, we had no overdoses. Zero. Now every eight days we find someone on a bathroom floor, lips blue, not breathing. Preble Street
Bill Nemitz: Tell legislators to save bill that could prevent more opioid deaths
Imagine you’re volunteering at the Preble Street soup kitchen in Portland because it’s the holidays and you’re a good person and this is what good people do this time of year. Across the table from you sits a homeless woman. She’s addicted to opioids, and it being the holidays and all, she has what those
Mark Swann talks about Preble Street food programs
Preble Street Executive Director Mark Swann is a guest on Maine Points. There are many ways to describe Preble Street: drop-in centers, soup kitchens, food pantry, shelters, social work services, supported housing. These descriptions only tell part of the Preble Street story. Marks talks about the many ways Preble Street works to turn hunger and
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
