Bangor’s largest homeless encampment officially closed on Friday, but one city official said those remaining on the site will not be forced to leave immediately.
Sixteen people were still at the encampment behind the Hope House Health and Living Center as of Friday, according to Jena Jones, the city’s homelessness response manager.
Though the camp was scheduled to close on Friday, Rob Hanscom, Bangor’s park ranger, said the city would not be “forcing people out” at the end of the day.
Those who remained on the site on its last day were “working through their exit plans,” Jones said. This could mean they have plans to move out over the weekend or are waiting for a shelter bed to open.
“We have worked diligently since October with the understanding that exiting homelessness is not always a linear path and people who have experienced chronic homelessness — many of whom have been unsheltered for years in that space — often face roadblocks or setbacks that require grace and compassion to navigate,” Jones said on Friday.
Though some people haven’t yet moved out, the closure marks the end of the encampment that has existed on the property and grown in size for years. The community, often called “Camp Hope” or “Tent City,” has become the physical representation of Bangor’s years-long homelessness crisis.
Outreach workers will continue working with people at the encampment in the coming days to ensure everyone can successfully move out, Jones said.
“If individuals opt not to engage in their exit strategies, we will proceed with more traditional methods of closing encampment spaces but remain hopeful that will not be necessary,” Jones said.
David Warren, a spokesperson for the city, declined to say exactly how many people previously living in the camp have found permanent housing. However, he said on Tuesday that two people have signed leases and were waiting to move in while another “opted to take advantage of a shelter bed.”
“Other exit plans involve accessing treatment centers, emergency shelters and warming centers, and many folks have housing applications pending,” Warren said on Tuesday.
The 16 residents remaining on the property on Friday is a stark reduction from the roughly 100 people who previously lived in the encampment, according to Hanscom.
In the coming weeks, Hanscom said crews will be removing debris left behind by residents. After that, it’s unclear what the future of that site will be, though city councilors voted in October 2024 to offer Dignity First, a local homelessness nonprofit, the opportunity to rent the land the encampment sits on.
The closure of the camp after moving everyone living there into some form of housing or shelter is similar to what the city did to a smaller encampment in a wooded area on Valley Avenue.
The dismantling of that 20-person encampment, which took place in April 2023, was spearheaded by a federal disaster relief team from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, called in by U.S. Sen. Susan Collins to help Bangor address its growing homelessness crisis.
After the Valley Avenue site was closed and cleaned up, the city planned to repeat the feat at the larger encampment behind the Hope House.
The city initially planned to shutter the encampment behind the Hope House at the end of 2024, but delayed the closure by two months to allow Penquis to finish turning the former Pine Tree Inn into permanent supportive housing for people who are homeless.
