PORTLAND, Maine — Portland city councilors voted unanimously to approve a new proposal Monday night that aims to connect the remaining unhoused individuals who are living in tents in the city to housing providers. The hope is to bring at least half of the people the city connects with into what it calls stable housing by the end of the calendar year.
The proposal is called the Housing Opportunities for People in Encampments (HOPE) and it will be primarily funded by MaineHousing.
"This issue keeps me up at night, it is just so complex," City Manager Danielle West said before the council meeting. West said that MaineHousing approached the city with this proposal.
The funds will be used to hire new staff, including several housing navigators to work with 90 unhoused people who still are living unsheltered in the streets and have not used city shelter.
West said this decision was made because a lot of the people living without using city shelter need other options.
"It takes time and it takes effort and this MaineHousing program would be one step," West said. She added that the work to convince dozens of people to shelter last year was hard, but ultimately started to work.
Now, the Homeless Services Center is near-capacity every day.
For unhoused residents in Portland who are still unsheltered, it sounds hard to trust the city. Many who wished not to be interviewed told NEWS CENTER Maine Monday about the city's constant sweeps of encampments in 2023.
"We're not here to cause any trouble," C.J. Martel, who said he's been unhoused for years, said.
Martel said he's lived on the outskirts of Portland for some time, avoiding the larger encampments in the inner city. He added the encampment behind Lowe's on Brighton Avenue has grown, and he fears the city and property owner will clear them as well.
"I'd stay here before I go into the shelter," Martel said.
Martel added he is growing older and has had repeat surgeries. He doesn't want to be homeless anymore and told NEWS CENTER Maine he would be interested in the housing program that the Portland City Council voted on Monday night.
"I want to go inside. I am tired of it... A lot of people look at us and judge us because we are homeless, but a lot of people have a heart here."
In addition to launching HOPE, councilors extended the State of Limited Emergency to this June, which allows the city to have 50 extra beds at the homeless services center on Riverside Street.
The council also approved more than $360,000 from MaineHousing to fund the city’s resettlement program for another year. The program helps asylum seekers become self-sufficient by connecting them to housing resources.