On Monday, February 5th, 2024, the city council will vote on three items in the city’s effort to provide emergency shelter for the homeless.

The Council will be asked to consider a  new pilot program that will provide housing navigation assistance for 90 homeless people.  The pilot program, Housing Opportunities for People in Encampments (HOPE) is a one year program that will serve 90 people through housing delivered at encampments.  The goal is to stably have a minimum of 45 of these individual households over the course of a year.  If approved, HOPE will be launched in partnership witth Maine Housing and was designed with input from city staff, US Department of Housing and Urban Development Technical Assistance, Maine Housing, Preble Street and the  Portland Housing Authority.

The HOPE program would fund the employment of three housing “navigators” by sub-contracted Maine Housing Emergency Shelter and Housing Assistance Program (ESHAP) partners.  Funding would also cover client costs specific to the housing search, move-in process, and landlord incentives.

“Maine Housing is proud to help support a program aimed at closing some of the resource gaps that are contributing to unsheltered homelessness in Mane,” said Maine Housing Director Daniel Brennan.  “We are hopeful and optimistic this collaborative and community-based approach will have a positive impact on moving people into the permanent housing they deserve.”

The city council will be asked to accept tne appropriate two-kinds of HOPE programs cost ($452,000) from Maine Housing and appropriate the city’s share of the cost (one-third, or $226,000).  Staff recommended using ARPA funding originaly allocated to the Jill C. Duson Housing Trust Fund for this program.

At the upcoming Monday, February 5th meeting, the council will also be asked to approve extending the limited state of emergency order at 654 Riverside Street to June 3, 2024.