Portland-based social services nonprofit Preble Street intends to assume operation of the Hope House Emergency Shelter in Bangor in February 2025, ensuring services will continue for the area’s homeless population. The low-barrier 56-bed emergency shelter was previously run by Penobscot Community Health Center, which announced last year that it couldn’t sustain the shelter financially and it would have to cease operations in fall 2024 unless another provider could run the facility.

“The loss of Hope House would’ve been felt statewide,” said Preble Street Executive Director Mark Swann in a Nov. 12 press release.

Hope House Emergency Shelter is the one of five privately operated low-barrier shelters in Maine and the only one north of Waterville. Last year, the Hope House served over 300 people, many of whom struggled with substance use disorders and/or complex mental health challenges and for whom Hope House was the only shelter option in Bangor.

“When Preble Street was approached to take over shelter operations, we knew immediately that we wanted to support the people whose safety would be most impacted by this loss of shelter. But, as an agency that so many Mainers rely on, we had to do our due diligence on how adding this 24/7, 365-day-a-year program could potentially impact our existing work to end hunger, homelessness and poverty,” said Swann.

In April, Gov. Janet Mills signed a supplemental budget, which included $7.5 million in funding to support low-barrier emergency shelters over three years. A portion of these funds will support Hope House Emergency Shelter in this transition.

“(Penobscot Community Health Center) is deeply grateful for the prioritization by our local and state officials of this much-needed funding for low-barrier shelters,” said President and CEO of Penobscot Community Health Center Lori Dwyer in the press release.

“The funding makes this partnership with Preble Street possible and ensures the Hope House shelter will remain open,” said Dwyer.

Penobscot Community Health Center will continue to operate a clinic in the same building as Hope House Emergency Shelter, as well as 48 transitional housing units that are also onsite.

In Portland, Preble Street operates two private low-barrier shelters: Elena’s Way and Florence House. Swann emphasized the need to permanently support these types of shelters across the state, which Preble Street describes as “the first place that people can go to begin the process of recovering from homelessness,” on its website.

“Maine needs to continue to prioritize sustainable, permanent funding revenue for our critically important low-barrier shelters to ensure that funding challenges do not impact the operations of Hope House – or any other Maine shelter – in the near future,” he said.