Unhoused people, advocates put a face to Maine’s homelessness crisis

When asked how he was able to get off the streets, Eric Brewer said, supports and housing. “Before that I could not take care of my mental state,” he said, “I was in survival mode.” (Maine Morning Star)

“There’s all different kinds of homelessness,” said Eric Brewer, addressing a small crowd of advocates and unhoused people who gathered in Tommy’s Park in Portland on Tuesday.

People tend to stereotype those who are unhoused, he continued, but this population includes folks who are couch surfing, staying with a relative for a while or in a sober living residence. Brewer, who is on disability, lived in and out of shelters for 15 months beginning in May 2019, when he lost his apartment after his parents died and he was unable to afford rent.

“What we’re doing here is putting a face to all of this,” he said. People are “not homeless by choice.”

Brewer is a member of Homeless Voices for Justice, which hosted its 17th annual Longest Day of Homelessness sit-out Tuesday to highlight the “tragedy and injustice of homelessness regardless of the time of year.”

Other local groups including Milestone Recovery, Equality Maine, the Homeless Services Center, the Portland Public Library and Preble Street had tables of information for passersby.

The event, which was held days after the summer solstice, coincided with potentially significant developments both in Maine and nationally for unhoused people.

On Monday evening, the Bangor City Council passed an ordinance banning people from loitering on certain road medians — a move the ACLU of Maine argues violates the First Amendment rights of unhoused people.

And later this week, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule on an Oregon town ordinance that banned people from sleeping outdoors, which could have broad implications for the rights of unhoused people across the country.

Every January, the state counts how many people are experiencing homelessness. This year, 2,695 people were counted living in shelters, transitional housing, emergency motels or unsheltered. Although that is about 1,000 fewer than the year before, the Maine State Housing Authority said the drop reflects a change in available support programs, rather than fewer people actually facing a housing crisis.

Like Brewer, several of the speakers Tuesday are either currently or formerly unhoused. Many pointed to the challenges they face living on the streets.

“There’s only so much trauma a human can endure,” said Brian Arborio, who recently got housing after living in shelters for nearly three years. In addition to surviving outdoors, he said unhoused people experience violence, stigma from the public, and harassment from law enforcement.

In addition to drawing attention to the hazards of homelessness, the sit-out is meant to educate the public and promote discussion on the policies needed to make Portland and Maine more welcoming.

“The solution to homelessness is more homes,” Arborio said to applause.

On Tuesday, the Portland City Planning Board is meeting to discuss a proposal from Avesta to develop 48 “ housing first ” units that include crisis intervention, harm reduction and wrap-around services.

This proposal was held up by several speakers as a model that should be supported and replicated across the state.

Brewer said the relocation of services in recent years from Portland’s city center to its outskirts is making it harder for people to get the support they need. A better approach, he said, would be to centralize services.

When asked how he was able to get off the streets, Brewer said, supports and housing.

“Before that I could not take care of my mental state,” he said, “I was in survival mode.”

Brewer was able to get into a shelter that gave him access to counselors who, along with his Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor, helped him stay on track. “With those supports in place I could build a community around me, a network.”

Now for the past three and half years he’s been living in an apartment, he has a car, he volunteers with the Portland Recovery Community Center. He’s finishing up his bachelor’s degree with the University of Southern Maine in social and behavioral sciences. He said he’s now in a position where he can give back, and it feels good.

AnnMarie Hilton contributed to this report.

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