The South Portland Metropolis Council is contemplating permitting homeless shelters with a most of fifty beds every to be constructed within the metropolis.
The shelters ought to have bedrooms, relatively than a conventional structure of many beds in a single huge room, councilors stated at a workshop Tuesday to debate zoning amendments that may be required for the shelters.
The zoning modifications, which may go to a council vote as early as Feb. 21, are seen as a essential step in getting motels within the metropolis out of the sheltering enterprise. Various motels have acquired state and federal funding to behave as shelters and have been housing a whole bunch of homeless folks, together with asylum seekers. Funding is working out, leaving the town and its taxpayers to foot the invoice for housing and companies, in accordance with Metropolis Supervisor Scott Morelli.
Councilors and metropolis workers emphasised Tuesday that the town is not going to be constructing and working any shelters. The zoning modifications would permit nonprofit organizations or non-public companies to undertake these tasks.
The point of interest of Tuesday’s dialogue was the utmost variety of beds to permit per shelter, what number of shelters needs to be permitted, and the way they need to be configured.
Councilors stated a most of fifty beds per shelter appears acceptable for a metropolis of South Portland’s dimension, particularly if a number of the shelters are positioned in residential zones. Councilor Jocelyn Leighton instructed setting a cap of 5 shelters within the metropolis if the 50-bed restrict is finalized.
The utmost variety of beds additionally aligns with the shelter mannequin councilors wish to see, one with rooms with 4 to 6 beds in every.
Councilor Linda Cohen, whose brother was as soon as homeless, stated the separate room mannequin is greatest for the purchasers.
“When he didn’t wish to go to the homeless shelter in Portland, it was as a result of he and his associates have been involved about their belongings being taken away,” Cohen stated. “They have been very afraid to enter the shelters.”
Different folks in want of a shelter are hesitant to go to at least one due to the violence they might encounter there, she stated.
“That’s what makes me lean towards wanting folks to have rooms of their very own,” she stated. “No less than there’s some safety there, there’s a door there. You go there, whether or not you’re a single particular person or couple or household, and also you shut that door and there’s just a little little bit of safety there.”
Councilor Misha Satisfaction agreed.
“I respect particularly Councilor Cohen’s statements about privateness and safety of getting bedrooms for households and never warehousing folks in massive open, even 50-bed, rooms,” Satisfaction stated. “I perceive housing is housing and it’s an emergency, however I feel we want to ensure folks have dignity and privateness as a result of shelters needs to be greater than only a place to sleep.”
In a December workshop on homeless shelters, councilors and metropolis workers drafted necessities for shelters working within the metropolis, together with on-site safety, psychological well being and substance abuse companies, translators and transportation.
The Lengthy Creek Youth Improvement Heart on Westbrook Avenue was repeatedly cited by councilors as a possible location for a shelter with a number of the infrastructure already in place. Nevertheless, as a result of it’s on state-owned land, Metropolis Supervisor Scott Morelli stated, rezoning the world for a shelter wouldn’t essentially permit for one to be constructed there.
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