NEWS & UPDATES
Dyer Elementary School helps feed the hungry
Students at Dyer Elementary School in South Portland are helping to feed needy families at the Preble Street Resource Center this holiday season by "stuffing the bus." Students have dropped off nonperishable food donations for the last few weeks into a box shaped like a school bus located in the lobby of the school. Big
Scarborough girls in the chocolate business donating profits
SCARBOROUGH – Two Scarborough girls are proving it’s never too soon to catch the entrepreneurial spirit, or the spirit of giving.Last year, Tansey Hughes, 10, and Naomi Sholl, 8, one-upped the usual kids’ lemonade stand by founding a business, Sweet Friends, to retail all-natural chocolates and candies. Now, they are dedicating net proceeds from an
A torrent of views on Portland homeless services
PORTLAND – An overflow crowd turned out for Monday night’s City Council meeting to weigh in on a task force report on homelessness that has sparked public debate over the city’s role in helping people in need. The council accepted the report after nearly two hours of public testimony and referred elements to its committees
Our View: City's homeless strategy off to strong start
If you watched Monday’s City Council meeting looking for a fight, you would have been disappointed. An expected showdown between downtown business owners and Portland’s homeless advocates turned out to be not much of a debate at all. Instead of tearing apart a report written by a citizen task force calling for more capacity and
Peggy Lynch, 41, of Old Orchard Beach, outreach worker at Preble Street
When she was 19, Peggy Lynch embarked on her first social service role, staffing the crisis hotline for what was then Ingraham Volunteers. Now, Lynch has been an outreach worker with Preble Street, an agency that offers services for the homeless, for 12 years and she has no qualms about hiking out to an encampment
Hunger workshop is good first step in addressing needs
The recent "Face of Hunger" workshop in Saco was an important step in solving the problem of food insecurity in this area by bringing together some of the entities that are combating this serious problem. Four panelists and more than 30 attendees took part in the workshop, at which they discussed the problem of hunger
Preble Street head decries chamber remarks on homelessness
PORTLAND – The head of the Preble Street shelter is calling on supporters to back a task force report calling for new housing for the homeless in the city. An e-mail sent out by Mark Swann, the executive director of the shelter, said supporters are needed at Monday night’s Portland City Council meeting to counteract
Our View: Services aren't what adds to homelessness
Portland business leaders should be less worried about what would happen if the city did step up its response to homelessness than what would happen if it didn’t. Portland already attracts people from around the state and from other states who need housing and other services. As the homeless population expands, the city has more
Letter: Portland has not ignored homelessness
I think it is critical to challenge several comments made by my colleague David Wagner about the Task Force to Prevent and End Homelessness. Although homelessness in Portland reflects the record numbers seen in urban centers across the country, it is not indicative of a lack of response in Cumberland County. In fact, in addition
Investigation continues into death of woman found in Saco motel
SACO, Maine – (NEWS CENTER) — Maine State Police detectives continue to investigate what happened to a homeless woman who was discovered severely beaten in a motel room. Elizabeth Williams was found by the cleaning staff at the Sunrise Motel on Route One late Saturday morning and rushed to Maine Medical Center. She died at
50 Reasons We Love Portland
Mark Swann understands the realities of city living. "Being a great city entails a lot more than just having a vibrant arts community," he says. "It’s also about caring for your poorest. Half the state’s homeless population is in Portland, and we focus on the lives and experience of these people." This past year Swann
John Heald– 2012 "2 Those Who Care" Award Winner
John Heald of Southport has been volunteering with United Cerebral Palsy of Maine (UCP of ME) since 2006. He has served as UCP of ME Board President, as well as on board subcommittees including Executive, Strategic Planning, Governance, Development, Marketing and Merger. John was selected as a Trustee on the National UCP Board. This was
