Advocacy has been embedded into the Preble Street mission since our founding in 1975. In tandem with our Site-based Housing First programs, the Food Security Hub, Rapid Re-Housing and many other programs, Preble Street conducts advocacy and policy work through multiple channels to address homelessness, hunger, and poverty. Our advocacy includes community organizing, with events … Read more
Significant and ongoing funding is needed to keep Maine’s professional, low-barrier shelters open. On Friday, February 23, 2024, the Committee on Appropriations and Financial Affairs will consider funding for emergency shelters and low-barrier shelters. Please reach out to the AFA committee, using the drafted email below or with a personalized email. You can refer to the bottom of the … Read more
2023, like most years, was full of many challenges. But, after nearly 50 years of anti-poverty work, we know how important it is to focus on the many positive things that happened this year. Preble Street continued to produce and distribute thousands of daily meals at our Food Security Hub to meet increasing food needs, … Read more
Many communities across the United States are struggling with how to respond to the growing number of people who are experiencing unsheltered homelessness. Thanks to the pandemic, along with the lack of affordable and available housing and shelter, Maine is one of those places. All of us agree that people living in tents and encampments … Read more
Photo: Mark Swann, on right, at a 2015 protest in front of Portland’s City Hall advocating for more overflow shelter capacity. Ensuring that there are enough shelter beds for all who need them continues to impact vulnerable Mainers. Right now, we are at a tipping point for homelessness in Maine. The number of people experiencing … Read more
Hundreds of Mainers are living outside in the elements in our parks, alongside our highways, and on our streets. With shelters across the state at capacity every night, each tent you see is a visual representation of the critical need for shelter beds in communities all across our state. It is inhumane for people to … Read more
Veteran homelessness is a big, but solvable problem, in Maine. And Mainers are united in the belief that no Veteran should have to endure the struggle of homelessness. In August 2023 when the No Homeless Veterans Challenge launched, there were over 200 Maine Veterans in homeless shelters, sleeping outside, or living in their cars and … Read more
Simply adding more beds at Portland’s Homeless Services Center won’t solve the City’s unsheltered homelessness crisis. If we want people living in tents to access shelter, it is critical that the services provided are delivered with their needs and voices at the forefront. On Tuesday, September 26, 2023, the Portland City Council will hear … Read more
Over the years, the Preble Street internship program has trained hundreds of social workers. This prestigious and competitive opportunity has been key to meeting the Preble Street mission since the agency was founded in 1975 by Joe Kreisler, chair of the University of Southern Maine social work department. In its 48-year history, the Preble Street … Read more
Preble Street calls for a postponement of the September 6 sweep of the Fore River encampment to allow more time for outreach staff to find shelter and housing for the people staying there. For the safety of all, we must focus on increasing the resources available to people staying in encampments including the number of … Read more
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The mission of Preble Street is to provide accessible barrier-free services to empower people experiencing problems with homelessness, housing, hunger, and poverty, and to advocate for solutions to these problems.
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