PORTLAND, Maine — One hundred Maine Veterans who were homeless in 2021 will now have a safe and warm place to call home, as winter quickly approaches, thanks to an initiative led by the nonprofit Preble Street.
In August, Preble Street announced its "100 Veteran Challenge: Unlocking Homes for Heroes" campaign. The goal was to house 100 veterans in 100 days by Veterans Day 2021.
It took a lot of teamwork to help make that happen.
Jen Tibbals, the communications manager for Preble Street, told NEWS CENTER Maine more than 90 veterans have already moved into their new homes as of Thursday. Several others are in the final stages of getting connected to an apartment. This initiative has helped a veteran who has been homeless for more than 900 days and a family with several children. Tibbals said landlords across our state have pledged more than 100 apartment units for veterans.
Preble Street and other partners for this campaign made this initiative possible by using a Department of Housing and Urban Development housing surge model, doubling the rate of housing veterans. Tibbals said there is still a lot more to do, though.
"While the challenge results in 100 veterans and their families being housed, the work is not over," Tibbals wrote in an email to NEWS CENTER Maine. "Now, we turn to the next goal: ending veteran homelessness in Maine. To achieve this, we still need landlords to connect with us and rent apartments to veterans experiencing homelessness."
If you're a landlord and are interested in helping out, you can click here for more information.