What accounts for this vast disparity between perception and reality? It can only be the news and entertainment media and what they choose to highlight, as well as the bias they bring to subjects and issues they seek to promote, denigrate, or ignore.

Residents can support development and zone changes in their community for affordable housing development. Businesses can invest in housing for their workforce. Philanthropists can consider opportunities for retrofitting homes for seniors, supporting volunteer driven home development, and other unique opportunities.

Maine should join other New England states in providing greater access to fertility care. Infertility is a medical condition. Having wealth should not be the deciding factor on who has access to that medical treatment.

Consider the case of Marjorie Taylor Greene, the bomb-throwing Georgia congresswoman. Outrageously, she recently had to testify in a proceeding to determine whether she ran afoul Section 3 and therefore should be struck from the ballot.

When Disney objected to his “Don’t say gay” bill, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis punished the company in a flamboyantly stupid way — by shooting his own taxpayers in the foot. He stripped Disney World of its self-governing status. Not only had that been what brought the massive development to Orlando in the first place, but the deal also had Disney picking up lots of the bills normally covered by local taxes — to the tune of $163 million a year.

Navigating through the obstacles of homelessness with several other strikes against me has often felt impossible. At one point I told my closest friend that I just wanted to go back to prison. But I couldn’t figure out how to do that without hurting someone in some way. And I didn’t want that. But I felt desperate. And that can get scary.