NEWS & UPDATES
Third Annual Maine YogaFest Supports Preble Street Teen Center
After months of preparations, ticket sales for the third annual Maine YogaFest (MYF) opened in mid-March. The weekend festival will be held from July 10 to 12 at the East End Community School in Portland and has added more than 15 new workshops to meet the growing demand from attendees. Up to 1000 yogis are
Portland's community development grants reduced, demand remains high
PORTLAND – A plan to help people left most vulnerable by expected changes to city general assistance, homeless and public health programs will rely largely on $4.28 million in city funds and federal Community Development Block Grants. Funding from the Consolidated Housing and Community Development Annual Action Plan will be the subject of an April
Bernstein Shur Announces Awards for Excellence and Pro Bono Service
Bernstein Shur, one of northern New England’s largest law firms, announced its annual pro bono and volunteer service results. In addition to three attorneys who were individually honored, the firm also is recognizing its staff group, the Sunshine Committee. Sumner T. Bernstein Pro Bono AwardAttorney David Soley, member of the firm’s Real Estate and Litigation
Letter to the editor: General Assistance helps to produce proud, contributing citizens
I came to the U.S. as an asylum seeker from Rwanda in May 2011, having fled my country because of persecution, torture and the fear of being assassinated. I left behind my wife and four children, my assets, my culture and my job. I had served as a humanitarian worker for 10 years before opening
Preble Street Job Seekers Become "Rising Stars"
The first group of students to participate in Southern Maine Community College’s new Hospitality and Customer Service Rising Stars Academy has graduated with skills that are in high demand by the hospitality trade in Maine. The academy, based on the South Portland campus, provided 96 hours of entry-level hospitality training to the unemployed and underemployed
Patriot Subaru Earns $40,000 for Preble Street
Patriot Subaru of Saco presented a check for $40,000 to Preble Street, a Portland-based social service nonprofit, as part of "Share the Love," an annual charitable benefit sponsored by Subaru of America. The presentation was made at Preble Street on Friday, March 20th. Between November 20, 2014, and January 2, 2015, Subaru donated $250 to
Life at the Oxford Street Shelter: ‘Will I get a bed tonight?’
After she makes 16 beds at the hotel where she works, Lori Godin boards a bus, waits in line at a Portland homeless shelter, and if she’s lucky, she will get to make one more. Standing in the cold, Godin adjusted the straps of her backpack, the one that she’s lived out of for two
Task Force to Propose Changes for Portland Homeless Shelter
PORTLAND (WGME) — Portland’s City Council voted unanimously Monday to create a task force that will assess Portland’s Oxford Street Homeless Shelter. “I don’t think any of us would build a system the way our current system is set up today,” City Councilor Ed Suslovic said Tuesday. “It’s a chance to step back and say
Portland City Council approves homeless shelter task force
PORTLAND – The future of city homeless shelters will be examined and evaluated by a new task force created by a unanimous vote of city councilors Monday. Councilors also approved easements to allow installation of natural gas lines to the Portland Technology Park off Rand Road near the Maine Turnpike, but postponed signing a two-part
Protecting our youth, ending human trafficking
This past New Year’s Eve, a man and woman were arrested in Bangor for allegedly forcing a 13-year-old Maine girl into prostitution. This child, who was listed as a missing person, was being sold for sex through ads on the Internet. A Bangor police officer, posing as a John, arranged online to meet the girl
Maine Calling: Human Trafficking
Combating sex trafficking internationally and in Maine. Guests: Ruchira Gupta, Founder and President of ApneAap Women Worldwide , a grassroots organization that has helped thousands of women access safe housing, education, job training and other resources. Meg Elam, Assistant District Attorney, Cumberland County Fiona Mason, Director of Social Work, Preble Street dee Clarke, trafficking survivor
Portland to consider expanding, privatizing homeless shelter
The Portland City Council on Monday night agreed to study consolidating, expanding and privatizing the city’s Oxford Street Homeless Shelter, currently Maine’s largest and only municipally run shelter. The word "privatizing" often brings to mind situations where governments hand over the management of public institutions to private corporations, under the auspice that the corporations can