PORTLAND, Maine — In response to the growing number of encampments in Greater Portland, staff and inmates at the Maine State Prison came together to create hundreds of warming kits that were distributed Thursday for people experiencing homelessness.
In October of last year, an idea from one of the inmates was brought to the attention of Maine Department of Corrections Recreation Supervisor Forrest Burns, asking if people could do something to make life better for those unhoused in Maine this winter.
"They saw the encampments and the need, and they wanted to have an impact on that," Nakesha Warren-Colbry said.
Warren-Colbry helps to run the Homeless Services Response Hub for MaineHousing out of Cumberland County.
Once she shared the need for warming kits with correctional officers, gears kicked into motion. Through the jail's commissary, inmates and staff donated a dollar or two with every purchase.
"We ended up grossing over $12,500 in sales," Burns said. "There was a really good sense of pride in the facility."
With the money, correctional officers helped to purchase and assemble more than 600 warming kits and distributed them to 14 nonprofits in the Cumberland County and beyond.
"We're all wearing coats right now. It is cold outside. It's been cold. We're in the middle of winter," Tori Kenyan, director of the Path Program through the Opportunity Alliance, said. "And knowing that folks will receive some warmth the moment they receive these kits, also some of the additional supplies will continue to support their needs."
When people leave the corrections system, they are seven times more likely to become unhoused, according to the Prison Policy Institute. To change that, people like Warren-Colbry are working to implement programming like the Coordinated Entry at the Cumberland County Jail, which gives resources for folks preparing to leave the corrections systems.
"You know there's a lot that we need to support our community, and I would hate to see these Mainers fall through the cracks," Warren-Colbry said.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated who was creating the warming kits. That has since been revised to reflect staff and those incarcerated at Maine State Prison.