PORTLAND, Maine — Maine's second-largest homeless shelter could see a shift in management just three months after local shelters alerted state officials about concerns they couldn't continue to operate without more funding.
Hope House in Bangor, which served more than 300 people in 2023, announced its board voted to shift management over to a new partner.
The key here is securing enough funding to make the transition easier, or risk closing down, according to Lori Dwyer, with Penobscot Community Healthcare, which manages the Hope House.
"It's safe to say it is not safe, the shelters," Dwyer said Monday over the phone. "We have room for 56 people a night... and we are usually full."
Gov. Janet Mills announced an allocated $2 million in the supplemental budget, but Dyer said she is worried nothing will be concrete.
"There is news on multiple fronts but no commitment yet. ... Time is of the essence, because I don't want people outside next winter," Dwyer added.
Meanwhile, Preble Street in Portland is weighing its options of acquiring Hope House, which would make it the largest shelter managed entirely by Preble Street.
Already under financial strain, Preble Street said it wouldn't want to take over Hope House if it wasn't necessary. As of right now, Preble Street is over $2 million in debt running its own two low-barrier shelters.
"The consequences are just too much to stand by and see it happen. It would just be a travesty statewide," Andrew Bove, Preble Street vice president of social work, said.
Bove said the crisis is not new, and the increasing lack of resources around the country is making more people fall through the cracks and become homeless.
As the challenges in communities change with helping unhoused people, so should the funding streams for shelters, he added.
"Just making it year to year without some commitment from the state ... existing shelters won't be able to stay open, and no one wants to open a new shelter," Bove said.
It's unknown when the transfer could happen as lawmakers weigh how much money shelters will get, if any, in this legislative session.