NEWS & UPDATES
Contact Portland City Councilors to ask them to stop the sweeps and continue to work on solutions that will move people to shelter and housing
On Monday, November 20, 2023, at 5 pm, the Portland City Council will consider an ordinance amendment drafted by City Councilors Anna Trevorrow and Roberto Rodriguez that will effectively place a moratorium on encampment sweeps and lift the “emphasis” area designations through April 30, 2024. Please reach out to Portland City Councilors to ask them
Avesta Housing & Preble Street Announce New Site-based Housing First Partnership in Portland
Avesta Housing, the largest nonprofit affordable housing provider in northern New England, and Preble Street, a nonprofit social work agency serving the most vulnerable people in Maine, have announced plans to provide Site-based Housing First permanent housing with on-site support services to chronically homeless people on the site of the former Oxford Street homeless shelter
Help the helpers
Preble Street has many connections to Lewiston – big and small. We have an office in Lewiston, staff who live in the community and who knew the victims, friends and family who live in Lewiston, clients who have found housing and inclusion from the Lewiston community, and many partners who do amazing work on behalf of Lewiston’s hungry, impoverished, and homeless communities. We mourn those whose lives were cut short and are devastated by this senseless act of violence and the way its impacts will linger for so long.
One year of changing lives at Elena’s Way
“I have chronic PTSD and could not handle the environments at other shelters. This shelter is different. I was living in a tent that collapsed from snow. They helped me come inside. Now I have an apartment coming.” — Elena’s Way client Since opening its doors one year ago, the Elena’s Way Wellness Shelter has provided 9,054 bed
Recuperative Care is saving lives
(Pictured: Recuperative Care staff from Preble Street and GPH at the 1 year anniversary celebration of the program) In the days before Maine’s first recuperative care program (RCP) opened last September, the walls of the light-filled space were bare. One year later the walls are full of colorful photos and art, most created by patients
More beds without more accessibility isn’t a solution
Simply adding more beds at Portland’s Homeless Services Center won’t solve the City’s unsheltered homelessness crisis. If we want people living in tents to access shelter, it is critical that the services provided are delivered with their needs and voices at the forefront. On Tuesday, September 26, 2023, the Portland City Council will hear
Tell the City Council to lower barriers to shelter and STOP THE SWEEPS!
The Portland City Council is taking public comment about encampment sweeps at their meeting this Tuesday, September 26, at 5pm. Please attend and make your voices heard, OR email them before September 25 at 12pm to ensure your comments are included in their packets! Last week, Preble Street shared our recommendations for action steps on how to solve
Addressing Portland’s Unsheltered Homelessness: Viable Solutions
Portland, Maine, has a unique opportunity to drastically decrease encampment and unsheltered numbers with the opening of the new Riverside shelter and its 179 new beds. Read Preble Street’s seven action steps to address this public health, housing, and shelter crisis.
TAKE ACTION to support our unsheltered neighbors!
Portland is facing an unprecedented crisis in unsheltered homelessness, and encampment sweeps do not solve the problem. Instead, these sweeps traumatize the already vulnerable people living in these encampments and create another spike in needed items like tents and clothing as bulldozers and trash trucks take away their few possessions. There have not been nearly
Please welcome the 2023-24 class of social work interns!
Over the years, the Preble Street internship program has trained hundreds of social workers. This prestigious and competitive opportunity has been key to meeting the Preble Street mission since the agency was founded in 1975 by Joe Kreisler, chair of the University of Southern Maine social work department. In its 48-year history, the Preble Street
Statement on encampment clearing at Fore River Parkway from Preble Street Advocacy Supervisor
My name is Taylor Cray and I am the Advocacy Supervisor at Preble Street. I am writing to reiterate a sentiment that has been shared by outreach workers, service providers, and community members alike regarding the clearing of the encampment on the Fore River Trail. This sweep took place despite repeated pleas from community
Unsheltered homelessness: To solve – not resolve
Preble Street calls for a postponement of the September 6 sweep of the Fore River encampment to allow more time for outreach staff to find shelter and housing for the people staying there. For the safety of all, we must focus on increasing the resources available to people staying in encampments including the number of
