In this Wednesday, May 10, 2017, photo D. Rogers, a homeless man, panhandles for change in Portland.
AP
AUGUSTA (AP) — While homelessness has decreased 9 percent, the director of Maine’s Statewide Homeless Council is urging businesses and the private sector to donate more to make up for a lack of public money.
Cullen Ryan, the acting director of the council, says there’s still a lot of work to be done despite the encouraging decrease. The Kennebec Journal reports (http://bit.ly/2tMWsWy ) Maine experienced a 9 percent reduction in homelessness from fiscal year 2016 to 2017.
There was also a 21 percent reduction in the average length of stay in homelessness and a 14 percent drop in homeless veterans.
The state’s “Plan to End and Prevent Homelessness” calls for everyone who is homeless to secure permanent housing with an adequate support network. Ryan attributes the decrease in homelessness in part to the improving economy.
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less