Surviving sex trafficking as a child, finding a voice

As a girl and a survivor of sex trafficking, dee Clarke didn’t have the words to explain what had happened to her. All she knew was “prostitute.” But that wasn’t right. It was years before she said: kidnapped, raped, tortured, trafficked. Now 55 and living in Portland, she has found the language to explain the … Read more

Austin’s Story

When he first shared his story in the fall of 2022, Austin was spending his nights at the Preble Street Joe Kreisler Teen Shelter or outside on the streets. But for the past six months, Austin has been living in a one-bedroom apartment in Portland with a roommate and working as much as possible at … Read more

Preble Street Welcomes Three New Members to Board of Directors

Preble Street, a social work agency empowering people experiencing homelessness, hunger, or poverty and advocating for solutions to these problems, has appointed three new members to its Board of Directors. Justin Rosner, Principal, Battery Ventures; Chris Ellingwood, Principal, BerryDunn’s Commercial Practice Group; and Joe Ingream, Senior Vice President and Head of Employee Benefits, OneAmerica Financial, … Read more

Housing People Takes Investment, Not Magic

We have said before that the reasons why people experience homelessness are complex, but the solutions are not. Ensuring that people can access stable and safe housing and maintain that housing is the solution to homelessness. Preble Street created its Rapid Re-Housing program (RRH) in 2020 to move more people from homelessness to permanent housing. … Read more

A look back at 2023

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

Self-identification Form

To access this form in other languages or formats, please click the “Accessibility and Language” on the top right of your screen. Then click the icon, to select a language. Pour accéder à ce formulaire dans d’autres langues ou formats, veuillez cliquer sur « Accessibilité et langue » en haut à droite de votre écran. Cliquez … Read more

November is Youth Homelessness Month

“I would not be where I am today if it wasn’t for the Teen Center.” Tricia  After the last Point in Time count in January 2022, there were 3455 people experiencing homelessness in Maine and approximately 30% of that population was under the age of 24. Homeless youth experience higher levels of human trafficking, interpersonal … Read more

Avesta Housing & Preble Street Announce New Site-based Housing First Partnership in Portland

Avesta Housing, the largest nonprofit affordable housing provider in northern New England, and Preble Street, a nonprofit social work agency serving the most vulnerable people in Maine, have announced plans to provide Site-based Housing First permanent housing with on-site support services to chronically homeless people on the site of the former Oxford Street homeless shelter … Read more

4 Things to know about Deputy Director, Daniella Cameron

Daniella Cameron

Daniella’s relationship with Preble Street began when she was a teen in the 1990s. She donated food to the agency through her school and volunteered in the old Resource Center Soup Kitchen with her family. From an early age, she knew she wanted to be involved in social work. For her senior project in high … Read more