“Pandemic leads Preble Street to plan new approach to helping the poor” (July 2).
George Merrill, who is homeless, shovels snow Dec. 17 around a Congress Street bus shelter where he and a few other people had stayed during a storm. Sixty-four homeless people died in Portland in 2020 before the official start of winter. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer
“Preble Street applies for new shelter permit amid local opposition” (Sept. 14).
“The Preble Street project calls for knocking down most interior walls of the second floor to create an open concept design where shelter staff would be on hand around the clock for a limited roster of approved clients, a so-called ‘closed’ shelter that mirrors the rules at the emergency wellness shelter established at the Sullivan Gymnasium on the University of Southern Maine’s campus during the spring,” Staff Writer Matt Byrne reported Sept. 14.
“Before the pandemic, people lined up each evening to get a spot in Portland’s primary shelter or in an overflow space. …
“There would be no line each night for a bed at the Preble Street shelter, (Executive Director Mark) Swann said, and all services would be provided on-site … .” (A Dec. 4 city Planning Division memo has more details.)
How long will it take Portland to do the right thing? Housing people in motels is better than nothing, but Portland can do so much better. According to the Preble Street Foundation, “the only thing standing between 40 human beings and safety, hope, and professional social work services this winter and beyond is permission from the city of Portland to convert (the present) Preble Street day shelter into a 24/7 Wellness Shelter.”
Sixty-four individuals died on the streets of Portland this year before winter had even begun. When will our officials recognize that they represent all of us, not just an elite that is managing to avert their eyes from what is in plain sight?
Barbara Conroy
Portland
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