Earth Day marks the unofficial start of cleanup season. In Portland, many neighborhoods work with the city of Portland, organizing neighborhood cleanups.

In the Libbytown neighborhood, where I live, a fair amount of the trash that has been picked up appears to be incidental (e.g., from cars). But the bulk of the refuse includes items left behind, or stored, by members of the unhoused population: clothing, bedding, sanitary (and unsanitary) items and food containers – the personal things that those lucky enough to be sheltered store or dispose of in our homes and apartments. Nearly all of these types of items are found in the in-between or “forgotten” spaces on or adjacent to Maine Department of Transportation land where unhoused people seek refuge.

Thankfully, 108 units of affordable housing are planned for the old West School site adjacent to MDoT land. But redeveloping the land on both sides of the MDoT fences for more productive use, such as housing and “housing first,” would not only make the spaces cleaner but also, and more importantly, would provide much-needed housing so that many of our most vulnerable residents would not have to sleep out in the first place.

Zack Barowitz
Portland

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