NEWS & UPDATES
LAST CALL: Please ask members of the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee to support funding for LD1781: An Act to Establish the Homeless Substance Use Disorder Service Program!
The Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee is meeting on July 11, 2023, at 2:30 pm to decide funding priorities! Can you reach out to members RIGHT NOW to let them know how LD 1781: An Act to Establish the Homeless Substance Use Disorder Service Program will help ensure that the most vulnerable Mainers have the
TAKE ACTION: Tell legislators to override the Governor’s veto!
Last week, Governor Mills vetoed the Wabanaki Tribal Sovereignty bill. This veto can be overridden if two-thirds of the Maine State Legislature votes for the override. Why is this legislation so important? A 2022 Harvard study found, “Unique to Maine, the federal Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1980 (MICSA) empowers the state government to
Legislative wins!
UPDATE: On Tuesday, July 11, 2023, Governor Janet Mills signed into law a historic budget package, which contains funding for the Food Security Hub, emergency shelter funding, funding for affordable housing, and Site-based Housing First! So many people who are part of Preble Street played a role in securing these legislative wins – it took
Teen Services Expands Housing and Outreach Programs to Biddeford
Guy Gagnon, Biddeford Housing Authority Executive Director, and Hailey Virusso, Preble Street Director of Teen Housing and Outreach Services discuss the vision for the new transitional housing units for youth experiencing homelessness. For six years, Preble Street’s First Place Transitional Living Program, part of its Teen Housing Services programming, has provided low-barrier housing for youth
Board Profile – Cito Selinger: Curbside Spring/Summer 2023
How did you get involved with Preble Street? I came to the Preble Street board in 2005 via Stone Soup, a Preble Street subsidiary whose mission was to train folks in the culinary arts. When I joined the board, I think I was one of four lawyers. At first, I wondered what I could contribute.
Local, Sustainable, and Nutritious Meals for all Mainers: Curbside Spring/Summer 2023
For a person experiencing homelessness, poverty, or housing insecurity, meeting the basic need of nourishment is often the first step needed to move toward stability. When basic needs are met, employment, housing, and connection to health services and other social services often become the next step. “At a time of rising food costs, it is
Site-based Housing First: Curbside Spring/Summer 2023
“These programs serve as success stories where some of our most vulnerable are given the hand up they need to move beyond a survival-based existence focused on the next bathroom break, meal, or long cold night to live healthier, happier, and more productive lives.” – Mike Sauschuck, Commissioner for the Department of Public Safety At
Maine’s First Recuperative Care Program: Curbside Spring/Summer 2023
Imagine if you experienced an accident or serious illness or were admitted to the hospital and you didn’t have a home to return to or a bed to rest in. Unfortunately, this is what happens to many vulnerable people in our community; too many people experiencing homelessness get discharged from the hospital, still weak and
TAKE ACTION: Last chance to support critical legislation!
In these last days of the current Maine legislative session, we have a final opportunity to push for funding for two critical bills that would support people experiencing unsheltered homelessness and substance use disorder. LD1781: An Act to Establish the Homeless Substance Use Disorder Service Program Rooted in harm reduction and low-barrier access principles, the 2-year
Preble Street takes a NO position on Question A
Preble Street, a nonprofit human service agency serving people throughout Maine, is taking a ‘NO’ position on Question A, the June 13 ballot initiative in the city of Portland that would eliminate limits on rent increases upon new tenancy. The law currently caps rent increases at 5% upon new tenancy. In 2022 and 2022, Portland
Moving out of homelessness
Moving out of homelessness While there is an unquestionable housing and homelessness crisis right now, there are also signs of hope, as illustrated in Erin’s story. The Preble Street Rapid Re-Housing (RRH) program, in partnership with the programs across the agency, has housed 24 individuals since the beginning of the year. Together, these individuals have
Unsheltered homelessness: No simple answers
The chalk writing on the doors near the Bayside Trail says, “I’m so ignorant to think we’d make it out of this thing TOGETHER…or alive.” The hearts surrounding the message give hope, but the ‘or alive’ just scratches the surface of the despair we all feel knowing that there is no ready, short-term solution for
