Maine
Housing listed among top four health priorities for Maine • Maine Morning Star
Housing is considered a top priority for improving the health of Mainers over the next couple years.
The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention released its updated draft Statewide Health Improvement Plan late last month to guide state and local agencies to enhance the health of Mainers. The plan outlines four priority areas including mental health, substance use, access to care and “healthy and stable housing.”
Maine has an affordable housing crisis, which was made clear in a study released last October that said the state needs 84,000 new housing units in the next decade to meet demand. The Legislature tried to make a dent in the problem during the last session by funding the development of new units, approving a rent relief pilot program and infusing cash into low-barrier shelters.
Likewise, the draft Statewide Health Improvement Plan wants to increase the supply of affordable housing in the state and decrease the number of people experiencing homelessness. Nearly 2,700 people are unhoused in Maine, according to the state’s most recent count.
People who are unhoused face increased risk for disease and other health conditions such as mental illness, substance use disorder and diabetes, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
People experiencing homelessness “also face higher barriers to accessing healthcare and treatment,” said Brittney La Shier, director of the Recuperative Care Program with Portland-based Preble Street.
“The pandemic really illuminated the important role that shelter and housing play in Maine’s public health infrastructure and keeping everyone in our community safe and healthy,” La Shier said. “More access to housing opportunities paired with health care services — including medical respite, substance use treatment, or mental health care — will help people experiencing homelessness find stability and an extended life, as well as a happier and healthier quality of life.”
The draft plan also specifies that it wants the state to have “housing that equitably meets the diverse needs of all.” For example, the plan suggests improving the safety and ADA accessibility of existing housing units in the state.
The draft plan is open for public feedback until 5 p.m. Friday, so it is subject to change depending on the input received. The Maine CDC told Maine Morning Star a final version of the plan is expected in September.
YORK, Maine (WGME) — Police say an 81-year-old woman died after crashing into a tractor-trailer that had stopped in the breakdown lane on the Maine Turnpike in York.
Maine State Police say 81-year-old Janice Goldsmith of Massachusetts was driving on the Maine Turnpike in York around 3:15 p.m. on Monday when she crashed into the rear of a tractor-trailer that was stopped in the breakdown lane.
Goldsmith died at the scene.
According to police, the tractor-trailer had stopped in the breakdown lane due to a mechanical malfunction, and the driver had placed reflective warning triangles in the breakdown lane as required.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
PORTLAND (WGME) – Congresswoman Chellie Pingree says what she was told about an ICE facility in Maine is “B.S.”
Pingree says she and her staff got to tour the ICE facility in Scarborough Monday.
She says there was one person being detained while she was there.
The facility has three holding cells, and she says she was told there have never been more than five people inside.
Pingree and an attorney raised concerns about detainees being denied their Constitutional rights to have an attorney present.
“We checked out that office,” Pingree said. “We were told there were space limitations of bringing attorneys, so that’s just b——-, there’s plenty of room in there, you can bring in an attorney or the attorney can stand in the doorway.”
“In my particular case, my client was enrolling in an alternative, was forced to enroll in an alternatives to detention program, where he would have his whereabouts monitored,” Melissa Brennan of ILAP said. “He didn’t even understand what he was signing, and I think what’s most important is that people are deprived of that opportunity to consult with someone, to have that reassurance of having your legal counsel next to you.”
Pingree says she was told no one is held at the detention center overnight.
She says she didn’t see anything inside that was out of line for a facility like this.
CBS13 reached out to ICE for comment late Monday afternoon on Pingree’s visit, and we are waiting to hear back.
A strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, has been detected in a flock of backyard birds in Penobscot County this month for the first time since it appeared in Maine almost four years ago.
The case of H5N1 was confirmed on Dec. 1, according to the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, which reports cases by county and does not specify towns. Federal disease tracking data show the new case affected 90 birds and is one of the few known cases in eastern or northern Maine. Two flocks were affected in Hancock County in 2023, following two in Washington County the year before.
It’s only the third known detection in a backyard flock in Maine this year; the first two, in Cumberland County, were confirmed in February and affected about 110 birds. Statewide, health officials have raised the current risk level to high in response this month as the wild birds that typically spread the disease are migrating.
That risk level reflects the likelihood of birds getting sick, not people, according to Jim Britt, spokesperson for the state agriculture department. Commercial flocks haven’t been affected. The disease has been detected in numerous wild birds around Maine this year, primarily in southern and coastal counties.
While people can get bird flu, this strain isn’t considered a big public health risk, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said. Human cases have come from exposure to birds and dairy cattle, according to the CDC, but there are no confirmed U.S. cases of people spreading it to each other.
Highly pathogenic avian influenza is generally spread to poultry through the droppings of wild birds or exposure to them. It was first found in Maine in 2022, and has been detected in a handful of flocks annually after numerous cases that year.
Signs of infection in poultry include low energy and appetite, soft or misshapen eggs, swelling around the head, purple wattles, combs or legs, coughing and sneezing, nasal discharge or sudden death.
To limit risk to their flocks, poultry owners can protect them from contact with wild waterfowl by providing indoor shelter and covering outdoor areas. Sick and dying birds can be reported to the state online.
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