Amy Goode, LCSW

For countless Mainers, housing vouchers have been and are a crucial steppingstone to long-term stability. With rising rents and a housing shortage, waiting lists for vouchers have grown and housing is harder to obtain.

This summer, almost all housing authorities in Maine put a freeze on housing vouchers, including Portland, Westbrook, and Brewer, because of insufficient federal funding.

The impacts from this loss of rental assistance are devastating – vulnerable people, including youth, families, and domestic violence survivors can’t access housing and are homeless for longer. The freeze is also slowing down movement in housing programs and emergency shelters, creating even longer waitlists and fewer open shelter beds, which are critically important as we move into the colder months.

Take a few moments to continue reading below about the impacts of the freeze and how Preble Street is continuing to support people experiencing housing instability:
https://www.preblestreet.org/2024/09/30/the-importance-of-vouchers-to-secure-housing/

In a frenetic world
Slowing is effortful.
I must float back to myself
Time and time again.
Reminders, permission,
That it’s okay to just be
To take in small moments with awe
Return to the body
And choose not to push through;
To value rest, to allow self-nourishment
Because—
If I don’t do it, no one will do it for me.
The art of pausing the frenetic fury
Is an act of self-preservation, of sustainability
Of choosing self and life as it could be.