Unhoused

There is no single answer, because there is no single cause. Becoming unhoused derives from a multitude of causes, and thus requires multi-faceted responses. In the conversations I have had along the campaign trail, a few common themes have emerged:

• The housing squeeze is real and an impediment to getting people off the streets who don’t want to be there. Thus, we need more Housing First projects, and more projects of many kinds.

• We are still at a deficit in mental health and addiction services. It does seem clear that those efforts yield results, we just can’t achieve the breadth of offerings that the situation demands. This is a resource issue - in other words, more beds and more qualified staff.

• I think Portland’s elected leadership needs to think outside our borders and engage communities all over the region to fit their ordinances and social services to better match needs. This is not a “Portland problem,” but rather a “Maine problem.” The recent change in Westbrook, for instance, was a positive recognition by that community that it could do more. These efforts need to be encouraged all over the region.

I don’t believe that large, permanent “encampments” are a solution. On the whole, they are not good for anyone - the unhoused, service providers, or community members. We need to be able to get ahead of the problem through these other ideas so we don’t have to confront this issue like in past years.