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A Bangor nonprofit will receive millions in congressionally directed spending after years of asking for it to build tiny homes for people who are homeless.
Dignity First, a local homelessness nonprofit, will receive $2 million in congressionally directed spending from Maine Sen. Angus King, his office exclusively told the Bangor Daily News. The award, the largest the group has received to date, will allow the group to launch the initial phase of the project, which aims to build permanent supportive housing for people who are homeless, said Anna Phillips, Dignity First’s board president.
“We’re so excited about it, but now we have to dig into all this work we’ve been doing and finally take some steps forward,” Phillips said. “It’s exciting and it’s a little bit daunting right at the same time.”
The plan is still in early phases of development and may start smaller than initially planned, but Phillips said any amount of new housing will help the city and statewide housing shortage. It’s also aimed at easing Bangor’s homelessness crisis, two things the city has struggled with for years.
“Lasting solutions to homelessness support people who are living with homelessness, but also the community,” Phillips said. “Having a way forward to start creating something that participates in change for the better of all of our neighbors is really special.”
The group previously asked for $4.6 million in federal funding in 2023 and 2024 but missed out, so they submitted the same request in 2025, Phillips said. This time, they were granted $2 million from King.
“People are discovering that if you can get homeless people into housing, then you can start to solve other problems associated with homelessness,” King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, said. “I think the concept has been proven nationwide and I felt it was important to get started in Bangor.”
With the federal funding confirmed, nonprofit leaders will next need to meet with city officials to discuss where would make an appropriate home for the tiny home village and what, if any, infrastructure needs to be installed, Phillips said.
“The hope is that we could settle on a site and get things rolling within a year,” Phillips said. “The biggest initial piece that we wanted to use this grant for is to get utilities, the roads and the site ready to go.”
The nonprofit’s initial plan was to build on the site of a former homeless encampment, located behind the Hope House Health and Living Center off Corporate Drive. The city offered Dignity First the right to lease that land before anyone else after the encampment closed last year, but the organization lost that chance when federal funding didn’t come, Phillips said.
The organization will also need to revisit what it will cost to build each tiny home, as construction costs have risen significantly, and evaluate how many units it can afford to create in the initial pilot program.
Phillips anticipates roughly five tiny homes could be built in the first phase, as well as a “hearth center,” which would act as a community space where events such as recovery meetings or worship services could take place. The nonprofit hopes to use that smaller scale as a pilot program and expand from there.
The organization is considering making three different tiny home size options — from 16-by-20-foot structures to 16-by-32-foot units — to hold families of different sizes. Each would have a full bathroom and a kitchenette so residents can live independently, Phillips said.
Dignity First’s initial plan was to build in neighborhoods of 20 tiny homes, eventually reaching 60 units. The original village plan included an administrative building, large community centers and on-site services for residents with other challenges, such as mental health and substance use disorder.
The plan is modeled after a 51-acre development of 500 tiny homes in Austin, Texas, called Community First! Village, which the organization Mobile Loaves and Fishes opened in 2015.
How much it will cost to build, what the tiny homes will look like and when construction might launch are all still uncertain, Phillips said.
While the appearance and pace of the project will likely shift with time and changing circumstances, Phillips said the mission of supporting those struggling with homelessness, mental health or substance use so they can remain successfully housed remains the same.
“Building community with this is a huge part of the vision and the program,” Phillips said. “In Maine, we’re independent and like to do things our own way, but in times of crisis, we take care of one another.”
Aside from the tiny home village having a proven record of success in Texas, King said the mission is worth the investment because it could benefit taxpayers by reducing trips to the emergency room and jail time.
“Putting someone in a tiny home or apartment turns out to be seven times cheaper than keeping them in jail,” King said. “This makes sense for taxpayers, addresses a problem that’s significant in the community and makes lives better for people in pretty tough circumstances.”
