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… Mark Swann, executive director of the nonprofit Preble Street, which provides many services to Portland’s homeless community, said a recent survey of the shelter system’s 30 longest-term residents found that all 30 "had serious and persistent mental illness." Swann said shelters in Maine have become de facto mental health institutions and are "overflowing with

PORTLAND, Maine -Portland city leaders and advocates for the homeless are fighting back saying, "There’s another side of the story." On Friday, city leaders and homeless advocates told their side of the story after the LePage administration called the mayor and others irresponsible when it comes to doling out general assistance funds. This after a

PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) – City and state leaders from Portland pushed back Friday against claims by the LePage Administration that the city is in violation of the General Assistance program. A state audit of the program found that some long time users of the city’s shelter had large sums of money in the bank

…Consider this calculation: One night this winter, 282 people lined up at the Oxford Street Shelter in hopes of getting one of 142 thin, foam rubber mats to sleep on. Of the unlucky, 75 were able to sleep on the floor of the Preble Street soup kitchen. The rest spent the night sitting up in

…"The state has not lived up to its responsibility to help people with severe mental illness," said Mark Swann, the executive director of Preble Street, a Portland nonprofit that provides assistance to the homeless. Some also point to the state’s successful efforts to trim the number of people who receive health coverage through MaineCare, the

PORTLAND, Maine – Elected officials and homeless advocates held a news conference in Portland this morning to defend the city’s administration of General Assistance funds. A recent state audit accused the city of mismanaging GA funds, after finding that more than a dozen residents at one of the city’s homeless shelters had more than $20,000

PORTLAND, Maine – Portland Democrats and social services leaders came out swinging Friday morning, saying a recent state audit claiming the city mismanages its General Assistance program is part of a "coordinated attack" on the liberal city by Maine’s conservative governor and his administration. State Sen. Justin Alfond, D-Portland, led a news conference outside the

… "No one is staying in the shelters or languishing in the streets for years at a time to save money," said Mark Swann, executive director of Preble Street, a nonprofit that provides assistance to the homeless. "Shelters are not places people want to stay at if they have choices." Swann said the state is

PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — Social workers are defending Portland’s homeless shelter programs, after the Department of Health and Human Services released an audit of Portland’s welfare program. The audit, obtained by NEWS CENTER after a Freedom of Information Request, cited several violations. The state claims Portland is not taking income or resources into account

PORTLAND, Maine – Homeless advocates and health professionals in Portland are accusing state officials of using mentally ill homeless people as political pawns. This follows an audit by the Department of Health and Human Services that heavily criticized the city after finding several residents of a homeless shelter had significant amounts of money in the