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Our View: Too many are dying on streets of Portland

It’s hard to be homeless. Imagine having to carry everything you owned everywhere you went. Imagine sleeping on a foam mat on a hard floor in a room full of strangers, or in a chair when the shelter is full, or in a tent when the wind is howling. Imagine going without checkups and examinations,

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Tight market slams door on rent-voucher holders in Portland

… Donna Yellen, a social worker and chief program officer at the Preble Street Resource Center, said the result has been frustration and demoralization for people who believed that a voucher was a path to a better life. Yellen said a few recent trends in the market have resulted in fewer available full-time rental units

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Maine Observer: Sadness needn’t diminish joy of holidays

… Yesterday, I volunteered at the Preble Street soup kitchen for the first time. There, in the big gray building, amidst the homeless, was joy. Mary welcomed me with a "thank you hon" and put me to work. As I was setting salt and pepper shakers on the tables, an older man handed me a

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Scouts fill stockings for homeless

For the past three years, Girl Scout Troop 1714, of Portland, has dedicated its community service outreach to providing a helping hand for homeless teenagers in the city – a topic that all of the Troop members are concerned about. Each year, the troop makes St. Valentines Day gifts, conducts clothing drives and donates "pocket

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Portland vigil memorializes homeless who died this year

About 200 people on Monday night marched along Preble Street to Monument Square, where they lit candles in memory of the 35 homeless persons who died this year in Portland. Donna Yellen, chief program officer at Preble Street, a Portland-based soup kitchen and resource center for homeless people, told the crowd that the number of

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Victims of Homelessness Remembered at Vigils

PORTLAND, Maine-As the media compile their retrospectives of the notable events and people of 2014, homeless advocates in Portland and Lewiston are remembering those died. "It’s so sad to look at the list this year, and some of these people we’ve known for a long, long time." says Mark Swann, Executive Director of Preble Street

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Homeless memorial vigil planned for Portland, Lewiston

PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) Vigils to raise awareness for the homeless in Maine are being held to honor more than 30 homeless people who have died this year. Portland’s annual Homeless Persons’ Memorial Vigil takes place Monday evening. It ends in Monument Square with the lighting of candles to honor those who have died. Mark

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Homeless memorial vigil in Portland

PORTLAND (WGME) — The annual Homeless Person’s Memorial Vigil was held in Portland to honor more than 30 homeless people who died this year. Hundreds of people met at Preble Street and marched to Monument Square Monday night. Their names were read and a candle lit in their honor. Judy Newell shared her story of

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6,500 Mainers to lose food stamps

AUGUSTA – More than 6,000 Maine residents will lose their food stamps benefits next month under newly enforced rules that require some recipients to have a job, Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Mary Mayhew said. Republican Gov. Paul LePage’s administration began in October to enforce a three-month limit on benefits for childless adults

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Advocates for the Homeless March for Bus Passes

Advocates for the homeless in Portland, Maine, marched through the city today to plead for better access to public transportation. The annual event, organized by Homeless Voices for Justice, was created six years ago to highlight a particular challenge that impacts the city’s 3,000 homeless residents. Marching alongside a cutout of a cardboard bus, the

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Advocates: Transportation Changes Hurting MaineCare Clients

PORTLAND, Maine – Advocates for Maine’s poor and homeless say changes to MaineCare are leaving many clients without reliable transportation, and that the results can be catastrophic for some. Until a few months ago, Maine Care provided clients with regular appointments with unlimited monthly bus passes; but now, the state contracts transportation to several companies

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Heaping Helping

Volunteering is technically a selfish act. I jumped on the opportunity because I thought that by making others feel good, I would inherently feel good too. So, in a way, I initially decided to serve lunch at the Preble Street Resource Center soup kitchen, to selfishly address my own conscience. Either way, I definitely felt

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