… A recent Portland Press Herald article about a hearing in Augusta on proposed public assistance reforms included the thoughts of Antonie Bikamba, who fled political persecution and torture in Rwanda. After a period on General Assistance, while awaiting a work permit, he earned a master’s degree and currently is a caseworker at Preble Street. … Read more
… Because of high demand for emergency shelter beds, much of it driven by out-of-town users, the city has been paying for an overflow shelter at the Preble Street Resource Center. When the overflow is full, people are sent to a warming center at the city’s General Assistance office, where they can sit in chairs … Read more
PORTLAND – A plan to help people left most vulnerable by expected changes to city general assistance, homeless and public health programs will rely largely on $4.28 million in city funds and federal Community Development Block Grants. Funding from the Consolidated Housing and Community Development Annual Action Plan will be the subject of an April … Read more
Bernstein Shur, one of northern New England’s largest law firms, announced its annual pro bono and volunteer service results. In addition to three attorneys who were individually honored, the firm also is recognizing its staff group, the Sunshine Committee. Sumner T. Bernstein Pro Bono AwardAttorney David Soley, member of the firm’s Real Estate and Litigation … Read more
The first group of students to participate in Southern Maine Community College’s new Hospitality and Customer Service Rising Stars Academy has graduated with skills that are in high demand by the hospitality trade in Maine. The academy, based on the South Portland campus, provided 96 hours of entry-level hospitality training to the unemployed and underemployed … Read more
After she makes 16 beds at the hotel where she works, Lori Godin boards a bus, waits in line at a Portland homeless shelter, and if she’s lucky, she will get to make one more. Standing in the cold, Godin adjusted the straps of her backpack, the one that she’s lived out of for two … Read more
PORTLAND (WGME) — Portland’s City Council voted unanimously Monday to create a task force that will assess Portland’s Oxford Street Homeless Shelter. “I don’t think any of us would build a system the way our current system is set up today,” City Councilor Ed Suslovic said Tuesday. “It’s a chance to step back and say … Read more
PORTLAND – The future of city homeless shelters will be examined and evaluated by a new task force created by a unanimous vote of city councilors Monday. Councilors also approved easements to allow installation of natural gas lines to the Portland Technology Park off Rand Road near the Maine Turnpike, but postponed signing a two-part … Read more
The Portland City Council on Monday night agreed to study consolidating, expanding and privatizing the city’s Oxford Street Homeless Shelter, currently Maine’s largest and only municipally run shelter. The word "privatizing" often brings to mind situations where governments hand over the management of public institutions to private corporations, under the auspice that the corporations can … Read more
Mark Swann, executive director of Preble Street in Portland, said that on any given night the state’s 42 shelters are housing roughly 1,000 Mainers. "We desperately need your help," Swann told lawmakers Monday. "We’re turning people away each night. Shelter directors, I can tell you, we all hold our breath knowing how dangerously understaffed we … Read more
