Photo credit to News Center Maine. 

On September 26th, Bangor city councilors announced plans to conduct a sweep in Bangor's largest outdoor encampment, Camp Hope. This follows their review earlier this month of authorizing a policy that would give the city free rein to sweep homeless encampments if there are beds available at local shelters beginning this fall. The policy is modeled after a similar one implemented in Portland in July. Since then, Portland has cracked down on encampments, with unhoused Mainers receiving dozens of criminal trespass warnings and ordinance violations rather than being paired with permanent housing options.

These policies ignore the many reasons why someone would not want to stay in a shelter. Shelters can be loud, and feel unsafe and crowded, especially for families. What's more, shelters are not permanent housing. They often coincide with strict rules and offer little to no privacy (i.e., storage for personal belongings). 

At the root of Maine's housing crisis is a lack of low-cost housing and an inadequate response from leadership. 19,000 new units are needed to meet the housing shortage for low-income Mainers, according to the National Low-Income Housing Coalition. At the same time, Maine has the highest share of vacant homes in the country. The current system also pits refugees and immigrants against long-time Mainers in the scramble for what little housing is available.

We must address community issues together and with compassion for each other's well-being. Instead of criminalizing homelessness, we demand the City to do the following:

• Dedicate a deep investment to the creation of long-term social housing (building or purchasing new housing options to fill a 19,000-unit housing gap in Maine). All steps forward should embrace a "homes for all" approach by balancing new shelter development with deeply affordable and accessible housing options.
• Endorse a Housing First model by assisting people with getting housed rather than relocating them temporarily to shelters or jails. 
• Cap rent prices so that no household pays more than 20% of their monthly income in rent. Implementing such a rent control practice will protect renters by preventing price gouging on a basic life necessity. 
• Introduce inclusive public space management to make the city accessible to all. This means strengthening access to safe and open areas for people to rest in, including but not limited to public parks, buildings, and bathrooms. 

Stop the Sweeps! Permanent Housing now!

Party for Socialism and Liberation Maine