The Historic First Parish Church, 425 Congress Street, Portland, on a Cloudy, Cool Day.  Located Inside is a Warming Shelter Managed by Greator Portland Peer Services. Ben Skillings, Director.

MaineHousing is funding our Warming Shelter at First Parish Church, 425 Congress Street, on a weekly basis through March 2024 said Ben Skillings, founder and director of Greater Portland Peer Services, (GPPS)  in a telephone interview this morning.  Funding could go through April if the weather warrants it.

The shelter will be open tomorrow evening Wednesday, February 28 and on Thursday, February 29 because of the expected cold temperatures for the next two nights.  The Shelter opens at 7:00 pm and closes at 7:00 am the following mornings.

MaineHousing would have preferred that the Warming Shelter remain open seven days a week, but that was not acceptable to First Parish Church officials.  On any given night there are between 80 – 120 guests at the Shelter.  That number requires the staffing of between 12 – 14 GPPS employees.  That high number of staff members is required because the Shelter is located on two (2) floors of the Church.   There are only two bathrooms to accommodate the various needs of guests.  Skillings said that one or two people overdose every night.  “Our guests are usually kicked out of other shelters,” he said.  “We revive them and call EMTs and tell them of the incident.  This is the right thing to do because people are dying outside in Portland every winter.”

Skillings emphasized that what is really needed in the city of Portland is a day shelter where people can come to take a shower, do laundry and work with counselors.   “With the right space we would cut costs in half beause it would be one large room – requiring a smaller staff.”  The space at First Parish Church is “sprawled out” requiring more staff and making it more expensive to operate.

GPPS also manages the Costa House on State Street that houses 44 kids who are homeless between the ages of 18 – 26.  GPPS also manages a Recovery House.  Skillings’ two year old non-profit employes 20 staff members.

Skillings knows well whereof he speaks.  As a youth, the intelligent Skilings, 42, with a good sense of humor, was frequently in legal trouble that landed him in  jail – a whooping 20 –  30 times. Much of that time was spent at Long Creek Youth Development Center, in South Portland.  But then he got tired of that lifestyle.  It wasn’t working for him.  Twelve years ago he gave it up. and moved on.  Two years ago, he founded GPPS and has been working ever since to help a vulnerable population that is too often ignored.  That’s  because politicans don’t fund  voiceless communities.

Voiceless that is  until Ben spoke up.

For more background information on the issue, please visit post herein dated February 22, 2024.