INDICATING TYPICAL DRIVE TIMES. GRA OWING NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN MAINE ARE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS. THAT'S ACCORDING TO A NEW áPOINT IN TIMEá SURVEY JUST RELEASED THIS MORNING BY MAINE HOUSING. THE COUNT WAS GATHERED ON A SINGLE DAY BACK IN JANUARY.. AND FOUND NELY AR 45 HUNDRED PEOPLE WITHOUT A HOME.. W-M-T-W'S NORAH HOGAN JOINS US LIVE.. TO HELP PUT THAT NUMBER IN CONTEXT. NORAH? ACCORDING TO THIS REPORT - THE NUMBER OF HOMELE SS PEOPLE IN MAINE HAS DOUBLED SINCE LAST YEAR. MAINE HOUSING SA -YS- ... AN INCREASE IN N EW ASYLUM SEEKERS IN THE STATE, RISING RENTAL COSTS, AND PANDEMIC ERA ECONOMIC CHALLENGES COULD EXPLAIN THE CHANGE. NOW - SOME CAVEATS. PREVIOUSLY - THE PO INT-IN-TIME SURVEY ONLY COUNTED PEOPLE STAYING IN HOMELESS SHELTERS AND ON THE STREET. THIS YEAR IT ACCOUNTED FOR TWO NEW GROUPS - PEOPLE LIVING IN TRANSITIONAL HOUSING AND PEOPLE BEING SHELTERED IN HOTELS UNDER THE FEDERALLY FUNDED - EMERGENCY RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. BUT THIS STILL INDICATES A REAL IRENCASE AND PEOPLE WHO WORK IN THE FIELD SAY THE HOUSING CRISIS IS GETTING WORSE. MARTHA STEIN/HOPE AC TS 03;26;24 "FOR ALL PEOPLE WITH LOW INCOME, TS HI HOUSING MARKET HAS JT US BEEN HORRIBLE. WE WORK REALLY HARD TO EVEN FIND PLACES THAT ARE AFFORDABLE ." THIS SURVEY IS JUST A SNAPSHOT OF THE HOMELESS POPULATION IN MAINE - WHICH FLUCTUATES DAILY. THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE FACING HOMELENESSSS IS PROBAB
'People are becoming stuck': Survey finds Maine's homeless population is growing
The new survey from Maine Housing does include people not counted in previous reports
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Updated: 2:01 PM EDT May 19, 2022
A new report from MaineHousing released Monday finds the number of people in Maine experiencing homelessness is growing.The annual Point in Time Survey conducted on Jan. 25, 2022 found 4,411 people experiencing homelessness. That is a significant increase from the 2021 report that counted 2,204 people. In 2020, that number was 2,097 and in 2019 it was 2,106.However, this year's report does include those living in motels and hotels through federally funded pandemic rent relief programs that did not previously exist. It also includes people in transitional housing, counting them as currently experiencing homeless, a group not previously included.People living in emergency shelter hotels and motels, funded by either the Emergency Rental Assistance Program or state and locally funded General Assistance programs, account for 2,476 individuals tallied in the 2022 count.MaineHousing said the new survey likely also reflects a surge in people seeking asylum coming to Maine.Of the people who were counted as being homeless during this survey, 3,276 were sheltered, either in an emergency shelter, including hotels and motels, while 164 were unsheltered, staying in cars, tents, abandoned buildings, outside or in other places not suitable for habitation. Another 956 individuals in the count were in transitional housing.The 2022 count reflects 1,073 children under the age of 18, while 1,734 people self-identified as having behavioral health issues, including serious mental illness and/or a substance use disorder.The report noted that the overall number of people experiencing homelessness at any point throughout the year is considerably higher than the Point in Time survey shows. Last year’s unduplicated count for the year ending June 30, 2021 was 5,485, and that was considered to be an undercount due to not including people in emergency hotel placements. People working in the homeless arena expect the number to be only higher this year, based on what they are seeing in shelters, hotels, and outside. “We expected to see a sharp increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness this year from this count. We’ve been able to serve so many people in hotels with emergency rental assistance. However, these aren’t just numbers. Each number represents our fellow Mainers and many people fleeing to Maine for a safe second chance at life for themselves and their families.” said MaineHousing Director Daniel Brennan. Cullen Ryan, who serves currently as president of the Maine Continuum of Care Board of Directors, said the biggest concern people serving this population are seeing is the lack of places for them to go. "Shelters are full and overflowing into hotels, and that is compounded by a lack of housing placements," Ryan said. "People are becoming stuck. The affordable housing crisis is clearly affecting people experiencing homelessness. And no one is better for not having housing.”Ryan said he hopes recent actions by the Legislature will help provide MaineHousing with resources to address the problem. “We just can’t allow Maine to become a state where people try to live outside because they can’t afford or find places to go,” Ryan said. “We must set the bar higher with adequate shelter and housing to solve this problem.”
AUGUSTA, Maine — A new report from MaineHousing released Monday finds the number of people in Maine experiencing homelessness is growing.
The annual Point in Time Survey conducted on Jan. 25, 2022 found 4,411 people experiencing homelessness. That is a significant increase from the 2021 report that counted 2,204 people. In 2020, that number was 2,097 and in 2019 it was 2,106.
However, this year's report does include those living in motels and hotels through federally funded pandemic rent relief programs that did not previously exist. It also includes people in transitional housing, counting them as currently experiencing homeless, a group not previously included.
People living in emergency shelter hotels and motels, funded by either the Emergency Rental Assistance Program or state and locally funded General Assistance programs, account for 2,476 individuals tallied in the 2022 count.
MaineHousing said the new survey likely also reflects a surge in people seeking asylum coming to Maine.
Of the people who were counted as being homeless during this survey, 3,276 were sheltered, either in an emergency shelter, including hotels and motels, while 164 were unsheltered, staying in cars, tents, abandoned buildings, outside or in other places not suitable for habitation. Another 956 individuals in the count were in transitional housing.
The 2022 count reflects 1,073 children under the age of 18, while 1,734 people self-identified as having behavioral health issues, including serious mental illness and/or a substance use disorder.
The report noted that the overall number of people experiencing homelessness at any point throughout the year is considerably higher than the Point in Time survey shows. Last year’s unduplicated count for the year ending June 30, 2021 was 5,485, and that was considered to be an undercount due to not including people in emergency hotel placements. People working in the homeless arena expect the number to be only higher this year, based on what they are seeing in shelters, hotels, and outside.
“We expected to see a sharp increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness this year from this count. We’ve been able to serve so many people in hotels with emergency rental assistance. However, these aren’t just numbers. Each number represents our fellow Mainers and many people fleeing to Maine for a safe second chance at life for themselves and their families.” said MaineHousing Director Daniel Brennan.
Cullen Ryan, who serves currently as president of the Maine Continuum of Care Board of Directors, said the biggest concern people serving this population are seeing is the lack of places for them to go. "Shelters are full and overflowing into hotels, and that is compounded by a lack of housing placements," Ryan said. "People are becoming stuck. The affordable housing crisis is clearly affecting people experiencing homelessness. And no one is better for not having housing.”
Ryan said he hopes recent actions by the Legislature will help provide MaineHousing with resources to address the problem.
“We just can’t allow Maine to become a state where people try to live outside because they can’t afford or find places to go,” Ryan said. “We must set the bar higher with adequate shelter and housing to solve this problem.”
