Brian Arborio takes a photo with Shay Dufour and Fran Thomas, right, at the Homeless Voices for Justice’s 17th annual Longest Day of Homelessness sit-in at Tommy’s Park in Portland. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer
Organizers from homeless advocacy groups across Portland gathered in Tommy’s Park in Portland’s Old Port for several hours Tuesday to advocate for more solutions to homelessness during the 17th annual Longest Day of Homelessness event, held each June around the summer solstice.
The event was organized by Preble Street’s Homeless Voices For Justice, a nonprofit that pushes for systemic changes to make homelessness less prevalent.
Terrence Miller, advocacy director of Preble Street, said he hoped the event would draw attention to the issues homeless people face in the summer.
“I think a lot of attention and awareness is around when it’s really cold,” Miller said. “But when it’s hot, people mischaracterize homeless people … and don’t realize that in the heat, there is a litany of issues – hygiene, hydration issues – that need to be brought to attention just as much.”
“As we head into these hot summer nights, there’s a lot of challenges people face, and it takes an entire community to address those issues,” said Christopher O’Conner, the executive director of ECC, which is working to build an affordable housing complex for LGBTQ+ adults.
Several organizers, including Eric Brewer, a member of Homeless Voices For Justice, said they planned to attend a Portland Planning Board meeting Tuesday evening to ufge the city to approve a plan to turn the former homeless shelter on Oxford Street into a “housing first” apartment unit using state dollars. Housing first models prioritize housing stability and include services to help homeless people with other problems, such as mental illness, food insecurity and addiction.
“This site that they’re proposing on Oxford Street is going to have 24/7 onsite support services, such as cleaning, counseling, (medication) management, psychiatry, and (other) harm reduction services,” Brewer said.
Several spoke at the event, including Brian Arborio, who used to be homeless and recently traveled to Washington to hear Supreme Court arguments on a Colorado case that will determine whether cities can legally punish homeless people for staying in an outdoor public space when there is insufficient shelter space. He said he expects the court to rule in favor of the city.
“I can tell you from what I gathered, it’s not going to go favorably for homeless folks,” said Arborio, who now lives in Portland.
Brian Arborio, a homeless advocate, speaks at the Homeless Voices for Justice’s 17th annual Longest Day of Homelessness sit-in at Tommy’s Park in Portland. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer
When Arborio was homeless, he said he often shared his experience online and encouraged people at the event to do so, too.
“Over the three years, I was out there publishing my story on social media. I was always telling it to anybody I could. And friends and family of mine kept telling me, ‘Shut up, you’re embarrassing us,’ ” Arborio said. “They told me to be quiet. They told me nobody wanted to hear my story and nobody (expletive) cared. What I found at the end of all this is that there’s a huge community out here that did care.”
Portland City Councilor Kate Sykes discussed the importance of increasing the amount of affordable housing in the city.
“I’d like to say more housing is the answer to ending the homelessness crisis,” Sykes said. “But yesterday, the Press Herald ran a story that said that Portland, Maine, has the highest number of second homes in the country, so it’s not just that we need homes. We need homes for the right people. … And my belief is that we can’t just do that with market forces … We need to step up our social-housing program; we need to build public housing.”
Cheryl Harkins, who said she used to be homeless, is now an advocate leader with Homeless Voices for Justice. She has been trying to help Hope House, a shelter in Bangor, stay open.
“We’re looking for more funding in Hope House in Bangor, because it’s vital that they stay open,” Harkins said. “All the people that don’t have homes will probably have to migrate to Southern Maine. We already have pretty much a disaster because we don’t have enough room for everybody. So if we added another few hundred people it wouldn’t be healthy for anybody.”
Jim Devine said he experienced homelessness on and off while dealing with alcoholism. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer
Mark Rowe, 65, and Peter Beauchemin, 68, said they visited the sit-in to learn more about how to help homeless people. Rowe said he was homeless for several years and now posts advice for others on Facebook. The two are currently trying to find funding to start their own organization where they hope to help homeless people find basic needs, like sleeping bags or socks.
“We’re here to learn as much as we can from different people,” Rowe said.
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