The BDN Editorial Board operates independently from the newsroom, and does not set policies or contribute to reporting or editing articles elsewhere in the newspaper or on bangordailynews.com.
The co-occurring crises of housing shortages, substance use, and insufficient access to mental health services are on full display in the Bangor region. With homelessness a very visible challenge for the people experiencing it and for the communities they are part of, there is an unfortunate tendency to blame individuals for societal shortcomings.
As a community, we must not allow ourselves to take this overly simplistic view. Yes, people are responsible for their own actions. But there should be little doubt that the national spike in homelessness in recent years has been reflective of systemic issues and failures, and cannot be conveniently explained away as the result of individual failures or flaws. These individuals didn’t create the massive shortfall of affordable housing, or the longstanding challenges in accessing critical support services, or the significant price increases seen in our economy.
Too many people are falling through the cracks in our society, not because they are bad people, but because the cracks are too big. It requires sustained action, and compassion, at all levels of government to make things better.
Here in the Bangor region, at the very least, that means first ensuring that the Hope House shelter stays open. As the region’s only low-barrier shelter, Hope House stands as a critical resource to people who might not otherwise be able to access services at other shelters. While other locations might not be open to some people based on factors like their criminal history or sobriety, low-barrier shelters like this one are a critical part of the continuum of care for those who need shelter and help as they try to work through difficult periods in life.
Allowing Hope House to close would surely make the current situation worse, for hundreds of people relying on their services and for the community at large. So it is very encouraging to hear that talks seem to be progressing to facilitate the transfer of emergency shelter operations from Penobscot Community Health Care (PCHC) to Preble Street, a nonprofit that operates several shelters in southern Maine. PCHC expressed optimism about the potential move in a statement to the BDN editorial board earlier in July.
“Penobscot Community Health Care (PCHC) and Preble Street are waiting to hear about the transition of some critical state funding that would allow Preble Street to commit to taking over the operations of Bangor’s Hope House Emergency Shelter,” the statement said. “Both organizations are in favor of Preble Street assuming shelter operations and we will have more certainty once some of these final details have been settled. We are optimistic that this funding piece will be resolved soon, and we can move forward with due diligence to ensure that Maine’s second largest shelter keeps its doors open. PCHC will retain ownership and control over the clinic and transitional housing programs at the Hope House.”
“There are a lot of people counting on the shelter staying open – the more than 300 people who find shelter there each year, the hardworking staff, the Bangor community, and all of us across the state who care deeply about Maine’s most vulnerable citizens,” the statement continued.
These positive potential developments have been bolstered significantly by state action and funding, secured with the help of Bangor-area lawmakers, to support low-barrier shelters across Maine. And it is absolutely critical that municipal and county leaders take an active and ongoing role, not just in keeping the Hope House shelter open, but in addressing homelessness in general. Some positive steps have been taken, but more can always be done.
“Our most recent conversations with PCHC involved their due diligence work with Preble Street to acquire the Hope House. We understand the conversations have been promising and that an announcement is expected soon,” Bangor City Manager Debbie Laurie said in a statement. “In addition, low-barrier shelters are working in concert with Maine State Housing Authority to develop a recommendation as to how the additional $7.5 million provided in the recently adopted State of Maine budget for low-barrier shelters is allocated among the operators. That recommendation is expected in August. There are organizational matters that PCHC and other shelter operators are addressing before any additional funding discussions would occur.”
Both the city and Penobscot County have committed millions of dollars for renovations at Hope House, and both should be ready to repurpose those funds toward operational costs should it be necessary to help the shelter stay open. And by our count, the city and county have a combined total of more than $5 million in federal pandemic recovery funds left to allocate by the end of this year. We will stress once more that this money should be allocated to projects and services that can help ease the impact of those co-occurring crises of housing, substance use and mental health. As outlined in an email from Laurie, the city council has expressed interest in using remaining federal funds to support more housing development.
When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled recently that cities can ban homeless people from camping in public, we heard some public officials here in Maine welcome that decision as a win for municipality rights and local control. But local control is not a solution unto itself. We also need local compassion and local collaboration. Rather than simply clearing one encampment or another, so much work remains to actually address homelessness.
Here in the Bangor area, keeping the Hope House shelter open is an essential baseline to prevent things from getting worse. But more is needed to actually make things better.
