Maine youth experience homelessness amidst affordable housing shortage

WESTBROOK, Maine — 18-year-old Anthony Phillips is ready most youngsters hopefully won’t ever must expertise. For months, he has been dwelling in inns along with his mother and father, his older brother, and his two youthful siblings. Most just lately, they’ve been staying on the Casco Bay Resort in South Portland, close to the mall.

“It’s positively not superb. There’s not a lot privateness, sadly,” Anthony mentioned.

Two weeks in the past on Could 25, the household obtained a discover that it might now not even be an choice, although. The Maine State Housing Authority modified its eligibility requirements for the Emergency Rental Help Program, as of June 1, leaving the Phillips household with no place to go. They had been in a position to get an extension by means of Pine Tree Authorized Help to remain on the Casco Bay Resort till June 30 — however after that, their future is up within the air.

“If push involves shove, we’re going to must be at somewhat campground for somewhat [while] till we will discover one thing,” Anthony mentioned. 

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He mentioned he has peeked at Craiglist and Zillow however seen even simply two-bedroom residences are coming in at greater than $2,500. He mentioned his dad and his mother each work, even after his mother misplaced her job — however discovering reasonably priced housing has been difficult after they had been evicted from their residence earlier this 12 months, following rigidity with their landlord and growing lease costs.

“The place are we speculated to go? Sleep with a tent outdoors and stuff?” Jeremiah mentioned. “This isn’t the primary time this has occurred. My household has needed to sleep in a automotive earlier than.”

Jeremiah mentioned for him, not having a steady dwelling situation has made it troublesome to search out and maintain a job. He mentioned he additionally has issues that their household could find yourself staying at a homeless shelter — a vacation spot he would not contemplate appropriate for his eight-year-old brother and 12-year-old sister.

“Lots of people there are affected by actually dangerous psychological sicknesses, and there’s lots of people with dependancy issues,” Jeremiah mentioned.

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Katie Garrity is a social employee with the Westbrook Faculty Division who is aware of the Phillips household. She mentioned when she first took on this position 9 years in the past, there have been 4 college students experiencing homelessness. Now, there are round 120 — and Garrity mentioned that is seemingly an underestimate.

“Proper now, households are simply shedding housing, and so they’re not discovering housing once more,” Garrity mentioned, noting about 25 college students have been affected by the ERA program adjustments.

Garrity mentioned homelessness as outlined by the Maine Division of Training by means of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Help Act refers to quite a lot of conditions — like college students dwelling with prolonged household or buddies due to an absence of or lack of housing; college students staying at inns, motels, or campgrounds; unsheltered college students; and college students in unsuitable dwelling circumstances. 

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Garrity mentioned below the McKinney-Vento act, she works to verify college students experiencing homelessness can keep of their college district, no matter the place they transfer. The purpose is to attempt to keep some type of consistency, even when a dwelling state of affairs is altering.

“Loads of households have a variety of transitions or strikes throughout their instances being homeless, so it might be actually onerous to additionally swap college districts each time,” Garrity mentioned.

Garrity mentioned not having steady housing is a disturbing state of affairs, and it may typically get in the best way of scholars’ studying — or end in behavioral points.

“That might be actually onerous, having to eliminate all of your belongings, or having them put in storage,” Garrity mentioned. “It will be actually onerous not figuring out the place are you going to go every night time.”

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For the previous couple of weeks, the 24-bed Joe Kreisler Teen Shelter at Preble Avenue in Portland has been at-capacity most nights, in keeping with Leah McDonald, senior director of teenybopper providers at Preble Avenue. She mentioned youth who come there are from quite a lot of backgrounds, however many are experiencing generational poverty, determine as LGBTQ+, are New Mainers, or are coping with psychological sickness or substance use. 

“In recent times and up to date months, the prevalence has grown pretty dramatically,” McDonald mentioned.

McDonald mentioned when youngsters are specializing in survival abilities, they’re usually lacking out on placing their full consideration into different alternatives — like college.

“It adjustments every thing while you don’t have a steady place to sleep; you don’t know the place you going to sleep that night time; you don’t know the place your subsequent meal goes to come back from,” McDonald mentioned.

McDonald mentioned Preble Avenue is in want of landlords to associate with to offer extra reasonably priced housing. There are incentives. You’ll be able to study extra right here. Youth in want of assist can electronic mail teenoutreach@preblestreet.org.

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Sarah Austin, a workers legal professional with Pine Tree Authorized Help, mentioned to this point, they’ve been involved with 96 events affected by the ERA program adjustments. They’ve been in a position to assist about 72 keep of their resort rooms, for the time-being. 

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