Maine Currents 2/7/19

Producer/Host: Amy Browne

An Ambitious Plan to Address Homelessness in Maine

Mainers may have a chance in November to vote on a bond issue that would authorize $15 million to build housing for homeless people in the state: LD 48, “An Act To Authorize a General Fund Bond Issue To Invest in Housing for Persons Who Are Homeless”. The plan is to expand a “Housing First” model that has proven successful in Portland to other parts of the state.

We speak with Representative Michael Brennan of Portland, who is also a former mayor of the city and an adjunct professor of social work, the sponsor of LD 48, and Donna Yellen, Deputy Director of Preble St. in Portland- the agency that oversees the “housing first” programs there. And we listen in on testimony at the January 22nd public hearing on LD 48, before the legislature’s Appropriations and Financial Affairs committee.

More information about LD 48, the Appropriations and Financial Affairs committee and contact info for legislators is available on the State Legislature’s website

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