NEWS & UPDATES
Radio station helps "stuff the bus" for Preble Street
Portland, MAINE(NEWS CENTER) — A radio station is hoping to help Preble Street get through part of the winter through its "Stuff the Bus" campaign. Since Friday the hosts from Rewind 100.9 have been collecting non-perishable items and monetary donations from schools and shoppers outside area grocery stores. Wednesday was the final collection day, with
Radio station, students help needy for holidays
PORTLAND, Maine -On average, one in six Mainers use a local food pantry or relief agency for help with hunger. It’s an alarming statistic that drives many of us to support local efforts to make sure our neighbors don’t miss out on a special meal, like Thanksgiving. They came, they saw and they stuffed a
Portland council adds constables to library staff
PORTLAND – It took two votes, but city councilors on Monday approved a new Portland Public Library policy allowing security staff to give trespass orders to unruly patrons. The new policy adds three constable positions beginning Jan. 1, 2015, despite warnings from homeless advocates the policy will unfairly target some of the city’s most vulnerable
SoPo radio host headlines annual food drive
SOUTH PORTLAND – The annual 100.9 Stuff the Bus Food Drive, which is headlined by local radio host Chuck Igo, kicks off this week. Between Nov. 21 and Nov. 26, hundreds of students from schools in South Portland, Cape Elizabeth and Scarborough, along with community volunteers, will help radio station stuff a bus to feed
Maine faces federal penalty over photo policy for food benefit cards
… Representatives of the Food and Nutrition Service – a division of the USDA – visited Maine the week of Aug. 18. During the visit, they met with state officials, SNAP recipients, retailers and advocacy groups in Portland, Ellsworth and Bangor. One of those meetings was held at the Preble Street Resource Center in Portland.
Housing for homeless planned near Morrill’s Corner
Avesta Housing is looking to build a 30-unit apartment building near Morrill’s Corner in Portland for chronically homeless people with chronic medical conditions … … Jon Bradley, associate director at Preble Street, which staffs Florence House and Logan Place, said between two and five staffers would be at the Bishop Street facility 24 hours a
Picketers Protest Portland DHHS Move One Last Time
PORTLAND, Maine – For one final time, protestors picketed outside the Department of Health and Human Services building in Portland. They object to plans to move the facility to a new structure in South Portland. John Monahan, an advocate for the group Homeless Voices for Justice, says it’s still a bad idea, but given last
New program gives homeless teens second chance
PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — Nate Labrecque has called the Preble Street Shelters in Portland home for the past three years. After losing his mom as a young child and other family living situations failing him, he ended up on the streets. He had no money for a place of his own so a fold
Portland council gives library staffers power to expel unruly patrons
… Homeless advocates, however, argued that homeless people and minorities would become the targets. Jim Devine, an advocate for Homeless Voices for Justice, said the library is part of the "safety triangle," which also includes the Preble Street Resource Center and the Oxford Street Shelter. "Even if this policy change is not intended to target
Maine Calling: Maine Veteran Services
A look at some of the many services available to returning service men and women. Guests: Rob Liscord, Veteran Legal Services Outreach Coordinator, Paralegal, Pine Tree Legal Assistance John Ripley, Director, Military & Veterans Services, Easter Seals Maine Phil Allen, Preble Street Veterans Housing Services Coordinator Also, by phone, Peter Ogden with the Maine Bureau
Security changes may be coming to the Portland Public Library
PORTLAND (WGME) — The director of the Portland Public Library wants the city council to grant its security guards the power to ban people. Executive director Steve Podgajny says with at least 400,000 people coming in and out of the doors each year, issues pop up. If an issue escalates to a point where more
Portland council cool to idea of ‘constables’ at public library
… Amy Gallant, advocacy coordinator at the nonprofit Preble Street, which provides services to the city’s homeless, said the constable request was "worrisome." She said police officers are better trained to handle potential trespassing cases, and they have oversight from Portland Police Chief Michael Sauschuck, whom Gallant praised for his work with the homeless population.
