Letter from Swannie: Curbside Winter 2023/24

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

The importance of funding for low-barrier shelters

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

No Homeless Veterans Challenge to continue

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

More beds without more accessibility isn’t a solution

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

Please welcome the 2023-24 class of social work interns!

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

Unsheltered homelessness: To solve – not resolve

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

LAST CALL: Please ask members of the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee to support funding for LD1781: An Act to Establish the Homeless Substance Use Disorder Service Program!

The Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee is meeting on July 11, 2023, at 2:30 pm to decide funding priorities! Can you reach out to members RIGHT NOW to let them know how LD 1781: An Act to Establish the Homeless Substance Use Disorder Service Program will help ensure that the most vulnerable Mainers have the … Read more

Fixing the broken systems that are costing lives

“Please remember that our unhoused community members are humans. They’re part of our community and they’re our neighbors. They deserve compassion. They deserve safety. They deserve advocacy, and they deserve housing,” shared Portland City Councilor Victoria Pelletier at the 2023 Longest Day of Homelessness Sit-in organized by Homeless Voices for Justice. “They deserve resources. They … Read more