Four Bangor state representatives urged the city and county to save a homeless shelter, but local officials argued they’ve already given millions in funding and the state needs to do more.
State Reps. Ambureen Rana, Amy Roeder, Laura Supica and Joe Perry sent joint letters to the Bangor City Council and Penobscot County Commissioners earlier this month calling on both parties to chip in pandemic relief or opioid settlement funding to prevent the Hope House Health and Living Center in Bangor from closing.
In their letters, the state representatives wrote that elected officials, regardless of their level of government, have a “shared responsibility to ensure that the most vulnerable members of our community receive the essential support that they need and deserve.”
The lawmakers had stronger words for the City Council and accused it of “abdicating its responsibility” on a variety of challenges facing Bangor “by reflexively shifting blame to the Legislature instead of actually working to find meaningful solutions.”
Cara Pelletier, Bangor City Council chair, called that assertion “unfounded,” as evidenced by the $150,000 in shelter bed reimbursements the city has given out so far this fiscal year, which comes from the city’s General Assistance program.
The letters are the latest development in statewide debate over how to keep Maine’s five low-barrier shelters open, as they all face financial deficits from operating costs far surpassing annual revenues.
The Hope House is the only low-barrier shelter north of Waterville. With a capacity of 64 beds, it’s the second largest shelter in the state and serves the region’s most vulnerable population because it doesn’t have as strict requirements for accessing help.
Pelletier said about one-third of the Hope House’s residents had a last permanent address in Bangor, which shows it’s a regional, if not statewide, resource. Therefore, regional and state money should support it, she said.
“We don’t turn people away from Bangor resources just because they’re not from Bangor,” Pelletier said. “But I don’t think it’s reasonable or sustainable to expect Bangor taxpayers to solve a regional challenge. Everybody should be paying their fair share.”
Penobscot County Commission Chair Andre Cushing said he’s hesitant to give money to the Hope House at a time when he hasn’t seen a plan to transition the shelter to a new owner and make it financially sustainable into the future. Instead, he has heard “only a plea for money.”
“That’s a little bit like some of their individuals with a need for substances saying, ‘If you just give me a little more,’” Cushing said. “That’s not a winning model in my mind.”
Cushing also noted the state is receiving the vast majority of the opioid settlement funding, so state lawmakers should “reflect on what their priorities for that funding are,” before calling on counties or cities to do so.
Penobscot Community Health Care, which operates the Hope House, has said the shelter is suffering from a $800,000 deficit this year and will close in October if another organization doesn’t take it over. The health organization blames the deficit on years of flat funding and rising operational costs.
Portland-based Preble Street has shown interest in absorbing the Hope House, but a sustainable funding source is needed to keep the shelter viable throughout and following the leadership shift, the head of Preble Street has said.
Both Pelletier and Cushing pointed out the combined $5 million the council and commissioners previously gave to the Hope House. But those funds are earmarked for future renovations at the shelter and cannot be spent on daily operations.
Pelletier said Penobscot Community Health Care also hasn’t approached the City Council to ask to change what the pandemic relief money can be used for.
Roeder said the money the city and county has given to the Hope House is “already state and federal funds” and the representatives aren’t seeing an investment from the city using municipal revenue.
The county received $29.5 million in federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act and has $4.5 million left, which must be allocated by the end of the year. Bangor, meanwhile, received $20.5 million and has $3.3 million left.
City councilors have also hesitated to give one-time funding to support an organizations’ operating costs, as they don’t want to create a “funding cliff” that will leave organizations wondering how to bridge the gap down the road, Pelletier said.
The letters came on the heels of the Legislature’s Appropriations and Financial Affairs and Housing Committee giving initial approval for Maine’s five low-barrier shelters to receive $7.5 million over the next three years. The funding would amount to roughly $500,000 annually for each shelter.
With that lifeline, Roeder said she believes Hope House needs another $300,000 to $400,000 annually over the next few years to keep its door open. The letters, Roeder said, were a “last-ditch attempt” to call on the city and county to work together to bridge the remaining financial gap, perhaps with pandemic or opioid funding.
“At this point, I don’t care if someone has $400,000 under a couch cushion,” Roeder said. “It needs to stay open.”
Bangor and Penobscot have received about $547,000 and $713,000 in opioid funding to date, respectively. The money comes from national settlements with companies accused of fueling the opioid epidemic. Of that, Bangor has spent $30,000 to clean up syringe waste around town while the county has allocated $20,000 to the Penobscot County sheriff’s methadone program.
The city is slated to receive an average of $269,000 annually in opioid payments until 2029 while the county’s annual average is estimated to be $350,500, according to the Maine attorney general’s office.
“There would still be a shortfall, even if the city gave the Hope House everything that’s coming in opioid settlement money,” Pelletier said. “We need the state of Maine to help us with a sustainable long-term plan to adequately fund shelters for the most vulnerable people in the state.”