Judy Bullard says MaineCare is keeping her alive, and she would be in dire straits if she lost her health insurance and could no longer afford her epilepsy medication. “If I don’t have health care, I will die,” Bullard said. “I need medication not just to live a happy and healthy life, but to stay … Read more
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
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
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 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.
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
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
… 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
… Donna Yellen, chief program officer for Preble Street, said the agency’s Joe Kreisler Teen Center reached capacity Wednesday night. The center has 24 beds. Yellen said the staff brought in cots to accommodate the overflow. Florence House on Valley Street is a 40-bed shelter for women. When it reaches capacity, women are sent to … Read more
On any given day, dozens gather outside in Portland’s Bayside area, waiting to get inside the Preble Street Resource Center and soup kitchen for a meal. As Homeless Veteran Al Libby puts it, “if you’re hungry enough, you’ll appreciate it.” And, although he says he appreciates the food, and the warm place to sleep, Libby … Read more
