Copyright Bangor Daily News
Bangor’s only low-barrier homeless shelter is one step closer to adding 7,000 square feet and 16 emergency shelter and transitional housing beds after breaking ground on the project Wednesday. The Hope House Health and Living Center addition is expected to open by the end of 2026 and fills an urgent need as unsheltered homelessness grows in Maine and shelters frequently reach capacity. The expanded capacity will be “one more step in the process of improving the services and supports we have in the community for the unhoused population,” said Lori Dwyer, president and CEO of Penobscot Community Health Center, which owns Hope House and operates its transitional housing units. Hope House is the only low-barrier emergency shelter north of Waterville. “When someone experiencing homelessness accesses a low-barrier, professionally run emergency shelter like Hope House, it is often the first step on their journey to safety, health, and stable long-term housing,” said Danielle Smaha, a spokesperson for Preble Street, the Portland-based nonprofit that operates the emergency shelter. The expansion will give the emergency shelter space for 12 more beds, bringing capacity up to 66 people, Dwyer said. It will also improve flexibility by adding four “flex” beds, which can be used to manage overflow or infection control. “When these renovations are complete, Hope House will be an even more welcoming, safe, and trauma-informed space for people experiencing homelessness,” she added. Smaha also noted that the expansion will add kitchen and dining space, saying, “when basic needs are met, employment, education, housing, and connection to health care, substance use and mental health supports follow.” When Bangor’s Planning Board approved the project plans in August, Preble Street staff told the Bangor Daily News the emergency shelter was consistently full every night to the point that they were forced to turn people away. Until the expansion is complete, many of those people seeking shelter may end up spending nights in one of three warming centers in Bangor, which recently got an emergency funding boost from the city. Beyond the expansion of the emergency shelter, Hope House will also add four more transitional housing units — dorm-style units where people typically stay for six to eight months, Dwyer said. “It’s meant to be a place where people can sort of continue to stabilize” as they work toward getting into permanent housing, she said. These units are especially needed, she added, as shelter stays have gotten longer post-pandemic due to the affordable housing shortage. The added square footage will also create more community spaces for service providers to meet with residents, who are mostly people who have experienced chronic homelessness, Dwyer said. These providers can help with job training, housing navigation and other social services. City councilors initially approved $2.77 million to fund the emergency shelter expansion in August 2023. That money includes a Community Development Block Grant and pandemic relief funds. Separately, Penobscot County Commissioners awarded Penobscot Community Health Center $2.55 million in pandemic relief money for the transitional housing part of the project in June 2023. This sort of construction project can be a lengthy process, Dwyer said, since it will be completed in stages while people continue to live in the building. When the expansion is finished next year, it will be “another piece of added capacity in the system to help address the challenges and keep people from having to be outside,” Dwyer said.
