The Homelessness Crisis in Portland

How a Local Non-Profit Can Help

By: E C Smith, Web Editor

For years, Portland officials and community members have understood the graveness of the homelessness issue here in Portland. As inflation continues to plague the global economy and the local cost of housing remains on the rise, locals’ efforts to secure housing have become increasingly challenged for even once comfortable Portland residents. 

While inflation and our plummeting global economy are some of the biggest pitfalls affecting the local homelessness issue, these are not the only causes of the homelessness crisis throughout Southern Maine. 

Another factor that ostensibly goes unexamined when addressing the homelessness crisis is the increasing and widespread abuse of drugs, alcohol, and other substances throughout our state and local community. Substance abuse disorder and addiction are rampant throughout our nation, and Portland and Southern Maine are no exception to this. These are some of the most prominent contributors to homelessness in our state. When individuals experience addiction, they have little or no control over themselves, their finances, or their relationships. Many are unable to hold a job and may even resort to criminal behavior in a desperate attempt to gain control. 

What sometimes gets neglected when local legislators enact policies that focus only on efforts that provide shelter, clothing, and food to homeless individuals is that they neglect the crucial duty of society to prevent homelessness from happening in the first place. What this means is that instead of approaching the homelessness issue from a position that seeks to mitigate the effects of the problem once homelessness has already occurred, community members and local legislatures must instead seek to provide services that prevent individuals from resorting to homelessness in the first place. 

This is where Catholic Charities Maine, a faith-based non-profit, comes in.

With a central office on Congress Street in Portland, Catholic Charities Maine is a community-focused charity that provides innovative, community-based social services statewide. Their programs boast a plethora of services and resources centered around helping Mainers from all walks of life. For those struggling with addiction, they provide resources like adult mental and behavioral health services, substance use disorder programs, and various counseling services to individuals looking to heal from past trauma, substance use, and other challenges. Catholic Charities makes these services free and affordable to those in need, giving even the most unlikely individuals a chance at a new life. 

By making their services inviting, affordable, and inclusive to all, Catholic Charities gives local Mainers facing the prospect of homelessness a chance at something better. In keeping with the core values of Respect, Integrity, Compassion, Hospitality, Excellence, and Stewardship (RICHES), Catholic Charities of Maine also provides struggling, low-income, and immigrant families and individuals with a haven of safety, support, and growth.

With innovative, collaborative, and continuous quality improvements, Catholic Charities Maine offers a wide umbrella of the best services through its 20+ programs, ensuring that members get the best quality care. 

Many times, the despair, cost of rehabilitation, and fear of the unknown prevent those suffering from substance use disorders from seeking out the help necessary to have a full recovery. By getting the word out about Catholic Charities and other similar social work initiatives in the community, Portland has a chance at mitigating, or even reversing, the widespread effects of homelessness in Maine.

Aaron, a social work grad student at USM, shared his thoughts on the homelessness crisis in Portland: “With the substance abuse [and] alcohol abuse… the homelessness part is the final end to it, but I don’t think taking people away from being homeless will solve the actual problem that they live with, which, I believe, is [due to a lack of] community and social support. People with a lack of community do succumb to things that kind of numb that pain so that before you know it, you drop into this catalyst of being homeless. I do think homelessness is an issue we should address, I think it is a factor, but I think the overall arching issue is social support.” 

Instead of policymakers making futile attempts at eradicating the homeless population throughout Portland and Southern Maine, communities should act as a body of support for those struggling and in need of social and community support. Through this model, the underlying function of the community would be to bolster one another through acts of charity and to create a space where those struggling feel seen, heard, and safe enough to ask for help before their troubles reach a breaking point. 

Catholic Charities Maine wants to embody that pillar of community support and does so every day by conducting acts of charity and giving those on the brink of despair a second chance.