AUGUSTA - The Legislative Council approved a bill Thursday from Rep. Anne-Marie Mastraccio, D-Sanford, that would increase the state's annual shelter operating subsidy from $2.5 million to $12.5 million.
In 1998, the Legislature created an annual shelter operating subsidy of $500,000. That figure remained roughly the same until 2015 when the Legislature increased it to the current amount of $2.5 million. Last year, the Legislature provided an additional one-time infusion of $10 million, and Mastraccio's bill, An Act To Support Shelters for the Unhoused, would make that increase permanent as an ongoing provision in the state's budget.
"Homeless shelters across the state are operating with severe deficits," said Mastraccio. "The one-time funding increase last year only served to pay down some of the deficit and helped some shelters keep their doors open, but shelter costs and the number of unhoused individuals in our state continue to rise. There are at least five shelters in the state in danger of closing, including right here in Sanford. We are failing our communities if we don't act. This increase is long overdue."
Mastraccio's bill will be heard when the Legislature meets again in January.
Mastraccio is serving her fifth non-consecutive term in the Maine House of Representatives and is a member of the Legislature's Government Oversight Committee and the Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services Committee. She represents House District 142, which includes a portion of Sanford and Springvale.
Contact:
Brian Lee [Mastraccio], c. 305-965-2744