Category: Health Services

Social work is at the heart of the MaineHealth-Preble Street Learning Collaborative

January 30, 2025January 27, 2025

People who are homeless experience severe physical and mental health outcomes, facing many barriers to accessing healthcare and treatment. These barriers can include things like the high cost of care, a lack of insurance, distance or transportation, and even prejudice from the medical community. The MaineHealth-Preble Street Learning Collaborative (MH-PSLC) is a low-barrier, walk-in medical clinic in … Read more

Preble Street’s Recuperative Care is a one-of-a-kind program for Maine

September 30, 2024September 26, 2024

Art, books, and inspiring messages are found inside and on the walls at Maine’s first recuperative care program. Picture this… you’ve endured a difficult surgery or have had a life-threatening illness or injury. You’re about to embark on a long recovery process, and will soon be discharged from the hospital and have nowhere to go … Read more

MaineHealth CONNECT Van started service on July 1

July 30, 2024July 25, 2024

National data from Harvard Medical School show that mobile health clinics are money savers that connect people to preventative care and outpatient services. Across the country, mobile clinics have reduced emergency department visits, returned money to communities, and saved lives. On July 1, MaineHealth launched their very own mobile health clinic, called the CONNECT Outreach Van. The CONNECT … Read more

Educating future doctors at the Learning Collaborative

July 30, 2024July 19, 2024

“You can be the best doctor in the world… have a photographic memory and memorize every type of medication. But, if your patients aren’t getting their basic needs met outside of the clinical environment, if they don’t have housing or shelter, if they don’t have access to food, it’s really, really hard to treat them … Read more

What does Harm Reduction look like at Preble Street?

July 19, 2024June 25, 2024

“I am a human being. Part of my job, part of being alive, is making sure others are, too.” Joe Kreisler, Preble Street Founder Every ten days, a client at one of Preble Street’s programs experiences an overdose. Preble Street staff respond to these overdoses, reversing as many as possible, saving lives, and compassionately utilizing … Read more

A whole new chance at life

June 25, 2024June 15, 2024

For 14 years, Kabir was homeless in Portland. But today, he is safely housed at Logan Place, Maine’s first Site-based Housing First program which opened 19 years ago. Kabir’s time on the streets was tough. “There is no break when you’re homeless. There’s no door to close,” he shared. Living outside led to numerous health … Read more

Understanding low barrier shelters

June 5, 2024May 2, 2024

What does a low-barrier shelter look like? At a time when unsheltered homelessness is increasing exponentially in our community and the shortage of low-barrier shelter beds has created a state-wide homelessness crisis, Elena’s Way and Florence House are a model for how we can take care of the most vulnerable people in our community. The … Read more

Care starts in the Outreach Room at the Learning Collaborative

July 2, 2024April 19, 2024

“Just having a safe space for somebody to enter into and have a conversation as well as get their basic needs met is so essential for relationship building.” Andrew Volkers (he/they), COVID-19 Mitigation Coordinator Andrew Volkers works at the Maine Medical Center-Preble Street Learning Collaborative, the Learning Collaborative for short, which provides low-barrier healthcare, care … Read more

The Importance of Low-Barrier Shelters in Our Community

June 5, 2024February 28, 2024

What does a low-barrier shelter look like? At a time when unsheltered homelessness is increasing exponentially in our community and the shortage of low-barrier shelter beds has created a state-wide crisis, Elena’s Way and Florence House are a model for how we can take care of the most vulnerable people in our community. The staff … Read more

What can you do in one year? A look at Preble Street impacts in 2023: Curbside Winter 2023/24

January 4, 2024December 15, 2023

Three Preble Street programs celebrated their first year of operation in 2023! Elena’s Way, a Preble Street Wellness Shelter Elena’s Way serves the needs of individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness, individuals unable to access other shelter services, and individuals who are extremely vulnerable should they be unsheltered. At Elena’s Way, guests have control of their own … Read more