AUGUSTA - Rep. Anne-Marie Mastraccio, D-Sanford, introduced legislation Tuesday before the Joint Select Committee on Housing that would increase the state's annual shelter-operating subsidy from $2.5 million to $12.5 million.
"Across the state, we have been working hard to address our acute housing shortage," said Mastraccio. "While progress is being made, it will take time before these projects significantly impact our housing crisis. In the meantime, this legislation extends financial support to municipalities grappling with this issue. By ensuring this funding, we can prevent closures that would otherwise devastate communities throughout Maine."
In 1988, the Legislature created an annual shelter-operating subsidy of $500,000 to support shelters in Maine serving the state's unhoused population. That figure remained 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. Mastraccio's bill would make that increase permanent as an ongoing provision in the state's budget.
"In York County, an estimated 300 people are currently unsheltered and all existing shelter beds are currently occupied with extensive waitlists," said Sanford City Manager Steve Buck testifying on behalf of the York County Committee on Homelessness. Once sheltered and with services and support, people are remarkably resilient. Stably sheltered, people can begin to take the steps necessary to work toward independence and well-being, and our communities become healthy and prosperous places for all as a result."
The Legislature's Joint Select Committee on Housing will hold a work session on the bill in the coming weeks.
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], 305-965-2744