Hello and thank you for all your support. With the upcoming sweep of Maine's biggest encampment, we wanted to state our support for Mayor Dion's policy to stop "camping" in Portland during the winter. The problem is complex and we're calling for more support and resources. 

But we cannot leave mentally ill Mainers outside during the coldest months of the year. 

12/17/23 Press Release:

Mainers for Compassionate & Common Sense Leadership Supports Portland Mayor Dion’s New Encampment Initiatives

Mainers for Compassionate & Common Sense Leadership, a bipartisan citizen’s initiative dedicated to finding real solutions for Maine’s growing Addiction and Substance-Use-Disorder (SUD) related homelessness crisis, supports Portland Mayor Mark Dion’s new encampment policy to clear the encampment by the Casco Bay Bridge and enforce a no-camping policy on all other city property.

A spokesperson for the group, Liesha Petrovich, explains why they support this new initiative, “I speak for many families who have a mentally ill, opioid-addicted child. My daughter, a fentanyl addict, is currently living in the encampment. It is not safe for anyone to be outside in Maine’s winter, and two have already died from propane fires. Parents have been begging for help to get their mentally ill children off the streets. Our pleas have fallen on deaf ears. Many of Maine’s politicians won’t even return our phone calls. This is the first sign that the city of Portland understands that leaving mentally ill people on the street during the winter, is a recipe for disaster.”

The group also calls on Governor Mills and Maine’s 131st Legislature to revise Maine’s Opioid Response Plan, including the Homelessness Crisis Protocol. Petrovich explains, “Without systemic change, more resources, and a commitment to ending SUD-related homelessness, we will face the same problems next spring. We need a new strategy because the current plan doesn’t address encampments or crime. Let’s do this now so 2024 will not have the same disastrous outcomes as 2023.”