Lewiston, Auburn hit 10-year high for number of homeless students

Lewiston School Committee member Elizabeth Eames raises a cup of lemonade Thursday to members of the Lewiston Youth Advisory Council outside The Store Next Door at the Longley School, 145 Birch St. in Lewiston. Council members offered free lemonade to anyone who donated school supplies or hygiene products to the resource center for homeless youth during Drink Lemonade and Donate to School Aid. “We have kids stop by every single day looking for supplies,” store Director Jamie Caouette said. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

LEWISTON — Jamie Caouette wonders what it will take for the city to address the growing number of homeless students and families in Lewiston.

Ten years ago, the district identified 166 homeless students. But over the past few years, the number has risen significantly.

Last year, it was 213, the highest in more than a decade. This past year, it rose further to 330, a 55% increase.

“We’ve been talking about this forever,” said Caouette, the director of The Store Next Door on Birch Street in Lewiston, which serves homeless Lewiston students and their families.

The number of homeless students in Lewiston has increased every year for the past three years, but little has been done, she said.

Lewiston isn’t alone. Auburn, Lisbon and Farmington-based school districts also counted the highest number of homeless students in over a decade this past year.

When the annual count ended in June, Auburn had identified 229 homeless students, double the number from the previous year. Mt. Blue High School in Farmington counted 46 students and Lisbon 18, both double their average number from the last 10 years.

Under federal law, homeless students are defined as “individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.” This includes students who are sharing housing, doubling up or couch-surfing; living in shelters, motels or campgrounds; or sleeping in cars, in public spaces, in abandoned buildings, outside or in substandard housing. Housing is considered substandard if it lacks basic necessities such as heat or running water.

Jamie Caouette, the executive director of the Lewiston school district’s The Store Next Door, which provides services to homeless students. Prom dresses hang from the shower stalls in the girls’ bathroom. Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald file

Even if a student finds appropriate housing during the school year, they remain part of the count. These totals are often considered the minimum number of homeless students living in a district because not all students and families share their situation with the school.

New Mainers moving into Lewiston account for “a lot” of the increasing numbers, Caouette said.

Sasha Anastasoff, the homeless student liaison for the Auburn school district, said earlier this year that the same was true for Auburn.

Yet, both said the newcomers are not the primary driver for the growing number of homeless students in Lewiston and Auburn.

Caouette said the primary cause is a lack of housing in the area. And, due to increasing rents, many low-income families are no longer able to afford an apartment with a Section 8 voucher alone.

Other growing social issues, such as substance abuse, have also caused families to lose their housing.

These issues have led to an increase in homeless students across the board, from unaccompanied teens living on the street to families living in hotels, Caouette said.

Joel Morse, a staff member at The Store Next Door, said he has also seen a rise in the number of unaccompanied youth in the New Mainer community. He knows of five to 10 children as young as 6 years old who traveled to Lewiston with no parent or guardian in the past year, he said.

Most of these children were taken into custody by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, he said.

“I think we’re going to see more of it,” he said. “I don’t think it’s over.”

Caouette said she’s seen more families who are homeless now than in previous years. She said The Store Next Door receives daily calls from families facing eviction or a rent increase they can’t afford.

She believes Lewiston needs a shelter which can provide temporary housing for families, both parents and their children. Just one shelter in Lewiston, Hope Haven Gospel Mission, allows children to stay with their families, Caouette said. Other shelters either serve youth or adults only.

Two proposals for a low-barrier shelter have been rejected by the Lewiston City Council since 2022. Under Auburn’s ordinances, only shelters for victims of domestic violence are allowed.

“Do we really care about these kids or are they just a number?” Caouette asked. “How much longer can we fight and say the same thing?”