4 Bangor state representatives urged the town and county to save lots of a homeless shelter, however native officers argued they’ve already given thousands and thousands in funding and the state must do extra.
State Reps. Ambureen Rana, Amy Roeder, Laura Supica and Joe Perry despatched joint letters to the Bangor Metropolis Council and Penobscot County Commissioners earlier this month calling on each events to chip in pandemic aid or opioid settlement funding to stop the Hope Home Well being and Dwelling Heart in Bangor from closing.
Of their letters, the state representatives wrote that elected officers, no matter their degree of presidency, have a “shared accountability to make sure that probably the most susceptible members of our neighborhood obtain the important help that they want and deserve.”
The lawmakers had stronger phrases for the Metropolis Council and accused it of “abdicating its accountability” on a wide range of challenges dealing with Bangor “by reflexively shifting blame to the Legislature as a substitute of really working to search out significant options.”
Cara Pelletier, Bangor Metropolis Council chair, referred to as that assertion “unfounded,” as evidenced by the $150,000 in shelter mattress reimbursements the town has given out to this point this fiscal yr, which comes from the town’s Common Help program.
The letters are the most recent growth in statewide debate over how you can preserve Maine’s 5 low-barrier shelters open, as all of them face monetary deficits from working prices far surpassing annual revenues.
The Hope Home is the one low-barrier shelter north of Waterville. With a capability of 64 beds, it’s the second largest shelter within the state and serves the area’s most susceptible inhabitants as a result of it doesn’t have as strict necessities for accessing assist.
Pelletier stated about one-third of the Hope Home’s residents had a final everlasting tackle in Bangor, which exhibits it’s a regional, if not statewide, useful resource. Subsequently, regional and state cash ought to help it, she stated.
“We don’t flip folks away from Bangor assets simply because they’re not from Bangor,” Pelletier stated. “However I don’t assume it’s cheap or sustainable to anticipate Bangor taxpayers to resolve a regional problem. All people must be paying their justifiable share.”
Penobscot County Fee Chair Andre Cushing stated he’s hesitant to present cash to the Hope Home at a time when he hasn’t seen a plan to transition the shelter to a brand new proprietor and make it financially sustainable into the long run. As a substitute, he has heard “solely a plea for cash.”
“That’s a little bit bit like a few of their people with a necessity for substances saying, ‘In case you simply give me a little bit extra,’” Cushing stated. “That’s not a successful mannequin in my thoughts.”
Cushing additionally famous the state is receiving the overwhelming majority of the opioid settlement funding, so state lawmakers ought to “mirror on what their priorities for that funding are,” earlier than calling on counties or cities to take action.
Penobscot Neighborhood Well being Care, which operates the Hope Home, has stated the shelter is affected by a $800,000 deficit this yr and can shut in October if one other group doesn’t take it over. The well being group blames the deficit on years of flat funding and rising operational prices.
Portland-based Preble Road has proven curiosity in absorbing the Hope Home, however a sustainable funding supply is required to maintain the shelter viable all through and following the management shift, the top of Preble Road has stated.
Each Pelletier and Cushing identified the mixed $5 million the council and commissioners beforehand gave to the Hope Home. However these funds are earmarked for future renovations on the shelter and can’t be spent on day by day operations.
Pelletier stated Penobscot Neighborhood Well being Care additionally hasn’t approached the Metropolis Council to ask to alter what the pandemic aid cash can be utilized for.
Roeder stated the cash the town and county has given to the Hope Home is “already state and federal funds” and the representatives aren’t seeing an funding from the town utilizing municipal income.
The county acquired $29.5 million in federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act and has $4.5 million left, which should be allotted by the top of the yr. Bangor, in the meantime, acquired $20.5 million and has $3.3 million left.
Metropolis councilors have additionally hesitated to present one-time funding to help an organizations’ working prices, as they don’t wish to create a “funding cliff” that can depart organizations questioning how you can bridge the hole down the highway, Pelletier stated.
The letters got here on the heels of the Legislature’s Appropriations and Monetary Affairs and Housing Committee giving preliminary approval for Maine’s 5 low-barrier shelters to obtain $7.5 million over the subsequent three years. The funding would quantity to roughly $500,000 yearly for every shelter.
With that lifeline, Roeder stated she believes Hope Home wants one other $300,000 to $400,000 yearly over the subsequent few years to maintain its door open. The letters, Roeder stated, had been a “last-ditch try” to name on the town and county to work collectively to bridge the remaining monetary hole, maybe with pandemic or opioid funding.
“At this level, I don’t care if somebody has $400,000 below a sofa cushion,” Roeder stated. “It wants to remain open.”
Bangor and Penobscot have acquired about $547,000 and $713,000 in opioid funding thus far, respectively. The cash comes from nationwide settlements with corporations accused of fueling the opioid epidemic. Of that, Bangor has spent $30,000 to scrub up syringe waste round city whereas the county has allotted $20,000 to the Penobscot County sheriff’s methadone program.
The town is slated to obtain a median of $269,000 yearly in opioid funds till 2029 whereas the county’s annual common is estimated to be $350,500, in keeping with the Maine legal professional basic’s workplace.
“There would nonetheless be a shortfall, even when the town gave the Hope Home every part that’s coming in opioid settlement cash,” Pelletier stated. “We’d like the state of Maine to assist us with a sustainable long-term plan to adequately fund shelters for probably the most susceptible folks within the state.”
