I have lived in Augusta, Maine since November 2018, and had kept the apartment that I had for over four years. I recently lost it in January; economic circumstances and poor life choices became my downfall. 

With only misdemeanor charges and no felonies, finding that apartment was incredibly difficult. Now, having been living within the homeless community for two months, I see first hand the recidivism that perpetuates the shelter-bound population, why their living situation is stagnant, and how we are systematically prevented from bettering our lives.

Amongst the lack of quality mental health treatment that Medicaid and Medicare offer to pay for, the lack of legitimate transitional housing services, advocates, and Non-Profit organizations actually aimed at providing resources for Maine's homelessness, I see one massively dominating factor in regards to why these citizens cannot advance: The CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECK requirements put in place strictly prevent the majority of our homeless citizens from obtaining housing, regardless of how old the charge is. 

The legal system in the US is set up in a way that makes recidivism (once incarcerated, one will become incarcerated again, repeatedly) a dystopian reality. The criminal justice system is orchestrated in a way that once you enter it, your life will be scarred forever, one way or another. Our tax dollars will continuously go towards dead-end yet necessary resources like homeless shelters, and winter emergency shelters, as cities like Augusta do not even have productive resources to fund, such as feasible low-income housing. Why fund such things if these People are not given mental health services, and most importantly, WILL BE DENIED ALL HOUSING, PERIOD, with a few obscure, niche exceptions, due to a criminal record.

MY PROPOSAL: With the exception of Class A Felony charges like Gross Sexual Assault and Murder, Housing discrimination based on criminal background will fall under the EQUAL OPPORTUNITY HOUSING ACT. Besides truly extreme, violent crimes, no individual will be denied a subsidized or low-income apartment unit because of their past again.