NEWS & UPDATES
Paper Things Provides Middle-Grade Readers with an Intimate Account of Child Homelessness
Cumberland, ME – February 10, 2015 – With as much adventure and emotion as her award-winning novel Small as an Elephant, Jennifer Jacobson’s new novel, Paper Things, presents the story of 11-year-old Ari who when forced to choose between staying with her guardian and being with her big brother, choses her big brother. There’s just
Childhood Hunger Task Force to apply for $50 million in unused federal funding
The Task Force to End Student Hunger unveiled an ambitious five-year plan to end childhood hunger in Maine through activating public-private partnerships and capturing nearly $50 million in unused federal funding already earmarked for Maine nutrition programs. "We all are letting Maine’s children down. Today, in all sixteen counties, in every school district across our
“Souper Bowl of Caring” Raises Money for Preble Street
Teens in the youth ministry program at Good Shepherd Parish in Saco collected $2,024.95 during the "Souper Bowl of Caring" challenge last weekend. The money will be divided between Preble Street Teen Center in Portland and Catholic Charities Maine’s Child and Adult Food Care Program. Members of the youth ministry program at St. Maximilian Kolbe
Task Force to End Student Hunger in Maine Unveils Plans
AUGUSTA – Following months and months of research, the end student hunger task force revealed its report on how lawmakers and those in the community plan to tackle this growing issue in the state of Maine. The state of Maine ranks first in New England in terms of food insecurity and lawmakers want to make
Portland volunteers conduct homeless survey
PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — Volunteers were out trudging knee-deep in snow, searching for Portland’s homeless Wednesday night. It’s for the annual Point In Time Survey for the U.S. Department for Housing and Urban Development. The data helps HUD allocate funding and resources to communities across the country. Homeless staying at shelters are easy to
Perilous wind chills drive hundreds into Portland homeless shelters
Portland’s homeless shelters were filled to capacity Monday night as mounds of snow accumulated on streets and sidewalks and temperatures, combined with strong winds, produced what the National Weather Service described as "dangerously cold wind chills" – as low as minus 30 degrees – that were expected to last through early Tuesday. On Monday night,
Blizzard impacts Portland homeless shelters
PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — The blizzard may have made Portland look like a ghost town, but inside the Preble Street homeless shelter, it was busy. Preble Street Associate Director Jon Bradley estimates up to 500 people went to the shelter Tuesday during the blizzard. "It was a crazy day," said Bradley. "It was packed.
Two Maine Restaurant Week Events Benefit Preble Street
THE INCREDIBLE BREAKFAST COOK-OFFFriday, Feb. 27, 7-9 a.m. | Sea Dog Brewing Company, 125 Western Ave., South Portland | $25 | brownpapertickets.com Maine’s title for "Best Breakfast" is up for grabs at this breakfast competition. Attendees taste the sweet and savory offerings and vote for their favorites. Proceeds benefit Preble Street Resource Center. THE SIGNATURE COCKTAIL
Gov. LePage promoting awareness of human trafficking
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Gov. Paul LePage is seeking to raise awareness of human trafficking. The Republican governor will sign a proclamation on Friday that designates next week as “Human Trafficking Awareness Week.” He will be joined by Republican Sen. Amy Volk, who sponsored a bill last session that, among other things, made sex trafficking
Alternative Break Students Study Poverty and Policy
Certainly, the Bowdoin students who elected to spend a week in January doing community service accomplished good deeds. They served meals to homeless people in Portland. They cleaned out the basement of a local homeless shelter. They volunteered at a Brunswick food pantry.Yet they spent just as much time learning. They listened to social service
Maine Voices: Nonprofits contribute to communities even without paying taxes
… Preble Street and nonprofit organizations like it do not create hunger and homelessness but work to end them. If these agencies didn’t exist, the hungry and homeless would still be here – and the cost of their care would be the responsibility of the state budget that our governor is trying to cut …
Maine groups get $902K to promote ACA market
Fifteen organizations have received a total of $902,910 from the Maine Health Access Foundation in an effort to help Mainers enroll on the federal health insurance exchange. The foundation announced the grant on Tuesday, ahead of the Affordable Care Act’s Feb. 15 deadline for health insurance enrollment in 2015. "Since the [ACA] became law in
