Secretary of Veterns Affairs Denis R. McDonough, US Senator Angus King, and US Representative Chellie Pingree (D) at Forum at USM, Portland.
Ed Harmon, President, of Boothbay V.E.T.S., Inc. Stands in the Doorway of one of His Units Built Specifically for Maine Veterans.
A plan to house 100 Maine Veterans by Veterans Day, November 11, was announced today by a panel composed of Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis R. McDonough, US Representative Chellie PIngree, (D) and US Senator Angus King (I) at the University of Southern Maine, Portland.
Welcoming remarks were delivered by Dr. Jacqueline Edmondson, President, USM, Portland. Her husband is a vet she said.
The original goal was to house 200 veterans currently housed in Maine shelters in a program supported by Preble Street But that number has been significantly reduced. The goal of wiping out homelessness of veterans entirely by June of 2025 was announced as well. It was not stated how many veterans live in Maine outside of shelters – as in homesless outdoor communiities – which have popped all over the state.
Moderator for the event was Dan Hodgkins, Senior Direcor of Social Work, Preble Street and No Homeless Veterans Challenge Chair. Hodgkins outlined some of the obstacles that stand in the way of getting Maine veterans housed. They include the market price of housing, mental health issues for some veterans, the huge population of homeless people are civililans and a shortage of case workers among the challenges. Hodgkins stated that it is sometimes hard to find landlords who will work with Prebel Street to provide veteran housing. “We will not place a veteran without a financial plan to pay the rent,” he said. “Preble Street provides special incentives for landlords who house veterans. There are layers of protection for landlords.”
Senator King stated that the shortage of workforce has been a big problem in finding housing for Maine veterans. He visited a Maine veterans’ home and saw a wing that was empty of residents due to the lack of staff. “Staffing issues hurt the homeless,” he said. The Senator said in driving around Maine he has seen old, big houses that appear to have one or two seniors living in them. He said that developig several apartment units for veterans in these buildings while providing some income for the home owners could benefit all parties. Off the subject, King said that “Maine is the New Florida ” because of climate issues. He said that Maine is the “climate refuge” drawing laughter from those at the forum. Back on the subject of vet homelessness, Senator King said: “The most valuable commodity in this line of work is ideas. We need your ideas.”
Following the conclusion of the forum a reporter asked Secretary McDonough: “Where does Maine stack up in care of veterans across the country?” He answered: “Among the highest in the United States. “There is no better mission than taking care of our heroes,” the Secretary said.
:We build campers for Maine homeless veterans,” said Ed Harmon, President, of the Boothbay V.E.T.S., Inc. a four year old company, who was showing potential customers one of the campers outside of the parking garage at Hannaford Hall. They are 70 sq. feet in size and are handi-capped accessible complete with a kitchen. The cost is almost $12,000. for one of the campers. They are built by prisoners at the Maine State Prison in Warren. To date, Harmon, a vet himself, has built and sold 20 of the units in Maine. They are located all over the state, including Augusta, Richmond Campground, Hope, Carmel, Scarborough, and Bangor. Six are being constructed currently. Harmon served six years in Vietnam. For four of those years, he was in the US Navy and tdwo years with the Department of Defense. He served as a sniper. “I can sleep only about two hours a night because I still see every face every night.”
For more information on these campers built for Maine vets, please visit boothbay-vets.com or call 207 – 242-9310. See above right photo of Ed Harmon, standing in the doorway of a camper at the www.nohomelessveterans.org forum this afternoon.