“In my time working here, I’ve been able to provide people with many things. I’ve given people vouchers, I’ve helped people move into apartments, I’ve helped somebody repair their vehicle. I’ve provided all of these material things. But time and time again, when people talk to me about what was most important to them, it’s been … Read more
Women experiencing homelessness face many obstacles on their path to stability and security. Like homeless youth, they are especially vulnerable to violence while trying to survive on the streets. Some have untreated mental illness and/or substance use disorders, are transitioning from incarceration, or have serious medical needs — especially as the population of people experiencing … Read more
Note: Preble Street continues to serve meals to those in need at several stops throughout Portland. Advocates for the homeless organized a protest on the decline of social services in Portland on Wednesday night, preparing to sleep into the night on the steps of City Hall. It comes after city officials told social workers here … Read more
There was a quiet, almost mellow, feel at the new Sullivan Wellness Shelter at the University of Southern Maine on a recent afternoon when I stopped by to check out how things were going there. A few clients were playing cards – at a safe distance, around a large table – a couple others were … Read more
The Preble Street social service agency opened a 50-bed, around-the-clock shelter inside a University of Southern Maine gymnasium to ease overcrowding at the city-run Oxford Street Shelter. Read more…
The University of Southern Maine’s Sullivan Gymnasium will open Friday as a temporary homeless shelter due to the coronavirus outbreak in the state. The University of Maine System partnered with Preble Street to create the 50-bed shelter. Preble Street is operating the shelter with the help of the Maine State Housing Authority and the Maine … Read more
…Preble Street earned the top rating of the 43 nonprofit groups in Maine rated by Charity Navigator, with a score of 99.17 out of 100. Preble Street operates with a $9 million budget, running homeless shelters and a food pantry in Portland, as well as various programs to help low-income and mentally ill people… … Read more
PORTLAND — The Preble Street Resource Center is accustomed to helping the homeless navigate local and state bureaucracies to get the assistance they need. Much of that help comes through either local general assistance programs, or through the state’s Department of Health and Human Services – systems the center knows well. But there is a … Read more
PORTLAND – The city has lost more than 100 affordable rental units over the past five years and needs to clarify an ordinance meant to protect its housing stock, advocates for the homeless said at a rally today in Congress Square. Crafted during a housing crunch nearly 10 years ago, Portland’s housing replacement ordinance requires … Read more
Worried that the proposed state budget would drastically limit access to General Assistance funds for some of Maine’s neediest residents, one state representative invited Gov. Lepage to Portland’s epicenter of social services and cleared up a major "drafting error." Upon hearing that the governor’s budget proposal called for limiting General Assistance help to once per … Read more
