The agency that opened Presque Isle’s first supportive housing complex is challenging public misconceptions about homelessness.
The Aroostook County Action Program recently released a report on Norman L. Fournier Place showing tenant demographics. The report aims to dispel ideas, mostly from social media, that its tenants don’t want to work and aren’t local people, agency officials said.
Negativity toward people experiencing homelessness isn’t new, and it’s not unique to northern Maine. As the numbers of unhoused people have risen across the country, so have cynicism and hostility toward those affected, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness. The data from Fournier Place, Maine’s only supportive housing complex outside Portland, shows homelessness is more local than people realize, Aroostook County Action Program Chief Program Officer Heidi Rackliffe said.
“There’s a common misconception that we’re busing people in. I’ve never bought a bus ticket for anybody to come to The County,” Rackliffe said. “One of the pieces I was really excited to share was where people came from and that it was, in fact, Aroostook County natives.”
Rackliffe has seen many social media comments alleging that ACAP has brought unhoused people to Presque Isle to take advantage of resources. Some blame the agency for rising homelessness and numerous encampments in the area.
However, the numbers of unhoused people sleeping in public areas diminished when Fournier Place opened, she said.
In fact, two or three people who were living on the street moved into the complex, Homeless Services of Aroostook Executive Director Kari Bradstreet said. Another eight who had been living at the Sister Mary O’Donnell Shelter for the Homeless also moved there, which opened up space to serve more at the shelter — bringing more people in off the street, Bradstreet said.
The 2023 annual homeless count showed 653,104 people were experiencing homelessness in the U.S., up 12 percent over 2022, according to the national alliance. MaineHousing reported 2.695 homeless in the state last year, a 1,000 decrease over 2022, but that was due to fewer available programs.
Named for the Aroostook County Action Program’s first director and current Aroostook County Commissioner Norman Fournier of Wallagrass, Fournier Place offers affordable housing to those who are homeless so they can transition into a more stable life. The 13-unit complex opened in September and is now full.
Rent costs $618 a month for a studio apartment and $739 for a one-bedroom unit.
Of its 15 tenants, the average age is 38. Six are employed, 10 hold at least a high school diploma, five are disabled and receive income, and five are older than 55, the agency report states. One person relocated to the area for a job opportunity. The others are from Easton, Fort Kent, Hodgdon, Houlton, Limestone, Madawaska, Presque Isle and Wade.
Agency Executive Director/CEO Jason Parent has shared the data, including at a recent meeting in Fort Kent. People have been shocked to learn tenants were from their own communities, he said.
“[We want] first and foremost to try to help folks understand what is the face of homelessness in Aroostook County,” Parent said. “Specifically, it is folks from this area, from Hodgdon to Fort Kent, in the demographics.”
Some people also think the unhoused don’t want to work, he said. Fournier Place tenants who are unemployed are seeking jobs and receiving coaching from the agency’s Hope & Prosperity Center, located in the same building, he said.
A new finding is that people affected by homelessness are increasingly older, Parent said. In fact, the oldest tenant at Fournier Place is 65.
Advocates for the homeless nationwide encounter some of the same public opinions, which may even make it harder to resolve homelessness, said Executive Director Donald Whitehead of the Washington, D.C.-based National Coalition for the Homeless.
“We see a number of misconceptions and they occur on a very frequent basis, and are often used to prevent programs from being created in local communities,” Whitehead said. “The idea that people move to communities because of their homeless services is one of the biggest ones.”
Multiple studies [have] found that 90 percent of the people who were experiencing homelessness were from the community in which they sought services, Whitehead said.
Other false ideas are that the homeless want to live that way and are mostly substance users. In fact, if offered a choice to enter supportive housing rather than remain unhoused, nine of 10 people would choose housing. And while some may have substance use issues, they represent a small portion of the total, he said.
The lack of affordable housing remains the biggest obstacle to getting off the streets, Whitehead said. It’s especially difficult for people on fixed incomes, which is why more older adults are facing homelessness.
The good news is that supportive housing has a 90 percent success rate for moving people into stability, he said. But challenges lie in battling stereotypes and creating enough housing to fill the need.
Though Presque Isle could fill four more facilities just like Fournier Place in a heartbeat, the supportive housing is succeeding, ACAP’s Rackliffe said. Everyone is paying rent on time and taking good care of the property because they’re so grateful to have a roof over their heads.
Simply put, the complex represents hope and a second chance for anyone struggling to lift themselves into a better life, she said.
Evidence suggests a “housing first” method helps people experiencing homelessness succeed, Rackliffe said. With safe, affordable housing, a big worry is taken off their plates and they can then turn to maintaining or finding careers and taking care of their families.
“I hope that Fournier Place continues to be the success we always knew it would be and that we inspire others to consider giving someone else a second chance,” she said. “There’s not one person who doesn’t need one.”
