NEWS & UPDATES
Postpone the sweep of the Harbor View Park encampment until after the new year
People needing to live outside on streets or encampments in the cold of winter is inhumane and dangerous. But, sweeps are inhumane and dangerous too. We are outraged by the City of Portland’s announcement that they will sweep Harbor View Park on Tuesday, December 19, 2023. Please reach out to the Mayor, the City Manager,
What can you do in one year? A look at Preble Street impacts in 2023: Curbside Winter 2023/24
Three Preble Street programs celebrated their first year of operation in 2023! Elena’s Way, a Preble Street Wellness Shelter Elena’s Way serves the needs of individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness, individuals unable to access other shelter services, and individuals who are extremely vulnerable should they be unsheltered. At Elena’s Way, guests have control of their own
Letter from Swannie: Curbside Winter 2023/24
Photo: Mark Swann, on right, at a 2015 protest in front of Portland’s City Hall advocating for more overflow shelter capacity. Ensuring that there are enough shelter beds for all who need them continues to impact vulnerable Mainers. Right now, we are at a tipping point for homelessness in Maine. The number of people experiencing
Low-Barrier Shelter Funding Testimony by Mark Swann to Joint Select Committee on Housing
Delivered December 5, 2023 Good morning, Senator Pierce, Representative Gere, and members of the Joint Committee on Housing, thank you so much for inviting me to speak to you today. My name is Mark Swann, and I am the Executive Director at Preble Street, a nonprofit human service agency with over fifteen programs serving the
The importance of funding for low-barrier shelters
Hundreds of Mainers are living outside in the elements in our parks, alongside our highways, and on our streets. With shelters across the state at capacity every night, each tent you see is a visual representation of the critical need for shelter beds in communities all across our state. It is inhumane for people to
No Homeless Veterans Challenge to continue
Veteran homelessness is a big, but solvable problem, in Maine. And Mainers are united in the belief that no Veteran should have to endure the struggle of homelessness. In August 2023 when the No Homeless Veterans Challenge launched, there were over 200 Maine Veterans in homeless shelters, sleeping outside, or living in their cars and
November is Youth Homelessness Month
“I would not be where I am today if it wasn’t for the Teen Center.” Tricia After the last Point in Time count in January 2022, there were 3455 people experiencing homelessness in Maine and approximately 30% of that population was under the age of 24. Homeless youth experience higher levels of human trafficking, interpersonal
Contact Portland City Councilors to ask them to stop the sweeps and continue to work on solutions that will move people to shelter and housing
On Monday, November 20, 2023, at 5 pm, the Portland City Council will consider an ordinance amendment drafted by City Councilors Anna Trevorrow and Roberto Rodriguez that will effectively place a moratorium on encampment sweeps and lift the “emphasis” area designations through April 30, 2024. Please reach out to Portland City Councilors to ask them
Avesta Housing & Preble Street Announce New Site-based Housing First Partnership in Portland
Avesta Housing, the largest nonprofit affordable housing provider in northern New England, and Preble Street, a nonprofit social work agency serving the most vulnerable people in Maine, have announced plans to provide Site-based Housing First permanent housing with on-site support services to chronically homeless people on the site of the former Oxford Street homeless shelter
Help the helpers
Preble Street has many connections to Lewiston – big and small. We have an office in Lewiston, staff who live in the community and who knew the victims, friends and family who live in Lewiston, clients who have found housing and inclusion from the Lewiston community, and many partners who do amazing work on behalf of Lewiston’s hungry, impoverished, and homeless communities. We mourn those whose lives were cut short and are devastated by this senseless act of violence and the way its impacts will linger for so long.
One year of changing lives at Elena’s Way
“I have chronic PTSD and could not handle the environments at other shelters. This shelter is different. I was living in a tent that collapsed from snow. They helped me come inside. Now I have an apartment coming.” — Elena’s Way client Since opening its doors one year ago, the Elena’s Way Wellness Shelter has provided 9,054 bed
Recuperative Care is saving lives
(Pictured: Recuperative Care staff from Preble Street and GPH at the 1 year anniversary celebration of the program) In the days before Maine’s first recuperative care program (RCP) opened last September, the walls of the light-filled space were bare. One year later the walls are full of colorful photos and art, most created by patients
