Maine social services agencies are denouncing a new executive order from the Trump administration, which calls on states to move some unhoused people into treatment, including through involuntary commitment, if necessary.
It also encourages states and municipalities to eliminate homeless encampments.
"Endemic vagrancy, disorderly behavior, sudden confrontations and violent attacks have made our cities unsafe," the Trump administration said in the executive order.
Mark Swann, executive director of the non-profit Preble Street, called the order "wrong" and "cruel," and said it does not address the root causes of homelessness.
"It doesn't help anybody find housing. It doesn't help anybody get a job or reunite with family," he said. "It certainly doesn't magically solve untreated mental illness or deeply entrenched addictions."
Mark Joyce, managing attorney for mental health advocacy at Disability Rights Maine, said he believes the order presents a host of legal and constitutional challenges.
"It signals an intent to roll back key constitutional protections that have been affirmed by the Supreme Court over decades," Joyce said. "It appears to target legal standards that safeguard individuals from being institutionalized too easily or for indefinite periods without adequate legal process or treatment."
Joyce notes Maine institutions lack the capacity to serve more people, and that involuntary commitment would likely cost the state of Maine millions of dollars a year.
Swann said he acknowledges that communities are frustrated by the increasing number of people sleeping outside. But he said he's spoken with hundreds of people in Maine over several decades who have managed to exit homelessness.
"It's never, ever been because they've been arrested. Or it's never been because their encampment was swept away. It's the person's own inner strength and character, and it's the help of family and friends, the faith community, and it's support from a lot of agencies like Preble Street who provide services and programs that we know work."
The order also calls on federal agencies to shift funding away from programs that prioritize getting people into housing first, and then offering treatment or other social services.
Maine is at the early stages of expanding such programs. And though five Maine projects have state funding, Swann said he's worried that the federal government could claw back money for rental vouchers that allow Housing First programs to succeed.
Preble Street offers 24/7 support services at three existing Housing First properties in Portland. The non-profit will eventually provide those services at a fourth site in Portland, along with a new site in Bangor.
