PORTLAND, Maine — Jake Russo said he moved to the large unhoused encampment off Portland's Fore River Parkway in the spring after the city forcefully removed dozens of people from a former encampment located on the Bayside Bike Trail.
"We just relocated, found this spot, and they're basically asking us to move again," Russo said.
Russo said if he was offered shelter he would take it, but said he's only spent several days in a shelter over the last two years he has experienced homelessness.
The City of Portland announced Monday that it would be closing the encampment at Fore River Parkway by Sept. 6, and said it will offer anyone staying there shelter space.
Currently, shelter space in Portland is highly limited, with nonprofits and city officials reporting full shelters nearly every night.
Kristen Dow, Portland's Health and Human Services director, said to the city council Monday that some people would be offered resources multiple times leading up to September.
"We are building the plane as we're flying it. There are things that we have to kind of pivot and move by a different approach, and we will continue to do that. I do believe that once this encampment is resolved, and we reached that date and move to the next encampment, it will move faster because these groups have already been formed," Dow said to the city council.
Regarding the issue of full shelters, Dow did not respond to emailed questions about what kind of shelter Portland would be offering to unhoused people.
Joseph McNally, who is the director of homelessness resources for Milestone Recovery, said his shelter is also normally full.
"I think it's a big ask in a short amount of time," McNally said when asked about the city offering shelter. "It's a short time frame, but I do think it is possible to get some folks into housing, as well as the Homeless Services Center as well."
The Homelessness Services Center is a 208-bed facility opened five months ago on the north end of Portland.