Hope House in Bangor will stay open, amid financial problems that threatened to close Maine's second-largest low barrier shelter this year.
The Portland-based non-profit Preble Street announced Tuesday that it has officially secured enough funding to begin operating Hope House in February.
It was expected to close this fall unless its current operator, Penobscot Community Health Care, found a new partner to patch a nearly $1 million budget hole.
PCHC officials report serving more than 300 people at the shelter last year. Its closure would have been devastating, said Mark Swann, Preble Street's executive director.
"It's the second largest shelter in the state of Maine, in the third-largest city in Maine — and we have a homeless crisis," Swann said.
The move is made possible with three-year funds that state lawmakers approved for Maine's low-barrier shelters, as well as money from the state's opioid settlements.
Preble Street has taken over operations for three other shelters in the past, Swann said it will make the case to state lawmakers that Maine's low barrier shelters play an important role in the state's health care system and should funded accordingly.
"We know the drill," he said. "You just got to be relentless and prove that you're doing important work, and do it professionally."
Low-barrier shelters do not require background checks or sobriety. And because many residents bring untreated mental health challenges and complex medical conditions with them, low-barrier shelters are more expensive to operate and have been struggling to stay afloat.
Penobscot Community Health Care will continue to operate Hope House until the Preble Street transition. Swann said the goal is for every Hope House staffer to become a Preble Street employee and that residents using the shelter will not notice the transition.
“This is certainly a win for the health and wellbeing of those who seek shelter services at the Hope House and for our community," Lori Dwyer, president and CEO of Penobscot Community Health Care, said in a statement. "PCHC is optimistic about the benefits that will be brought to our community through its partnership with Preble Street, a strong social service agency with a long history of serving the most vulnerable."
Dwyer said the transition will allow PCHC to focus on improving access to its clinic and to transitioning housing, which will remain open.
