Preble Street opening much-needed center for healing

They will not call it a shelter. It will be a “healing center” because, when you’re dealing with women whose lives have descended into violence, sexual assault, human trafficking and other traumas, that’s precisely what they need. “They’re the most vulnerable women we serve,” Daniella Cameron, senior director of Teen Services and Anti-Trafficking Services at … Read more

Cutting aid to poor people doesn’t magically make them less poor

Reducing assistance for poor people in the U.S. is a centerpiece of the budget the Trump administration unveiled Tuesday. It calls for huge cuts to Medicaid, Social Security disability payments, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, food assistance and other anti-poverty programs. It also would pass more responsibility for many of these programs to states and … Read more

Maine's homeless brave harsh outdoor conditions

Portland (WGME) – Thousands of Mainers don’t have a place to call home at night. In the winter months many of them turn to emergency shelters, but some of them don’t. It’s hard to imagine but some people are braving the harshest elements Mother Nature has to offer and are sleeping outside. “We find evidence … Read more

Maine homeless shelters require significant costs

PORTLAND (WGME) – It’s a place no one wants or expects to end up – an emergency shelter. Thousands of Mainers are using them and there’s a cost – the human toll and the monetary expense. A night in the shelter is far from comfortable. Clients sleep on mats just inches apart. It can be … Read more

Homelessness in Maine down, shelters still full

PORTLAND (WGME) – According to Maine State Housing authority 6,304 individuals were homeless statewide at some point last year. That’s the lowest that number has been since 2010. But the city of Portland’s Oxford Street Shelter, which is designed to sleep 154 people sees on average 220 people every night. “We don’t require people to … Read more

The homeless seem to feel more at home at new Portland clinic

… The MMC-Preble Street Learning Collaborative offers no-barrier medical, counseling and case management services to high-risk people experiencing homelessness, while giving medical residents a unique opportunity to gain experience working with an underserved population … Read more.

MMC joins with Preble Street to provide health care for homeless

Maine Medical Center and Preble Street have joined forces to ensure the most vulnerable underserved people in Portland have access to quality, barrier-free health care. The MMC-Preble Street Learning Collaborative seeks to help fill the void left by the closing of the City of Portland Healthcare for the Homeless Clinic in 2014, provide no-barrier access … Read more

Crowd at Portland vigil mourns loss of homeless residents

A crowd estimated at 200 people gathered in Monument Square on Wednesday evening to light candles and read the names of homeless residents who died this year. The event, held each year on the evening of the winter solstice, started in the courtyard of the Preble Street social service agency before the procession marched up … Read more

A simple change could give Maine's hungry rural people more food

… Over the past year, Good Shepherd Food Bank and Preble Street have undertaken the first research effort of its kind to better understand trends of hunger and food pantry usage in Maine. The results from more than 2,000 surveys completed in 244 towns in every county show how much Mainers are depending on local … Read more