Homelessness advocates met in Portland today to speak out against cuts to resources for the growing homeless population in Maine.
The event was part of a National Day of Action aimed to draw attention to the lack of affordable housing and the recent deaths in the homeless community on the one-year anniversary of the Grants Pass v. Johnson decision. The Supreme Court ruling determined government ordinances with penalties for camping on public land are not cruel or unusual punishment.
Author and activist Pat LaMarche, said she continues to advocate for the homeless population because it is a bigger group than people think.
"Most people experiencing homelessness hide. You see very few of the actual number of people experiencing homelessness, because you see only the people too desperate to hide," LaMarche said.
LaMarche said federal cuts to programs aimed at reducing poverty will only make the homeless population larger.
Jess Falero, an advocate who was formerly unhoused, said there's a lot of fear because of cuts to federal programs.
"It's really hard for people to survive at the moment, and I think that the back of a good society is taking care of our most vulnerable, and that doesn't seem to be what we're doing right now," Falero said.
At the state level, Falero wants to make sure that the Housing Choice Voucher program, which provides rental assistance, is kept intact.
