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Chris Hayes is the Presque Isle chief of police. Joel Merry is the Sagadahoc County sheriff.
As law enforcement officers serving rural and mid-sized Maine communities, we see firsthand how homelessness destabilizes our communities. Our officers frequently encounter individuals sleeping in vehicles or trespassing because they have no place to go. These aren’t criminal issues; they’re public health and safety crises that demand a compassionate response.
The heartbreaking closure on May 9 of the adult shelter in York County is the latest in a pattern of shelter cutbacks and closures we have witnessed throughout our careers.
As of this writing, four of Maine’s counties have no emergency shelters at all, and another five do not have any shelter that would serve a single adult who isn’t fleeing domestic violence. Meanwhile, Aroostook County’s only homeless shelter is making emergency financial maneuvers, and other shelters report unsustainable deficits.
Even as law enforcement struggles to support people who are falling through the state’s shredded safety net, we worry that it is truly at a breaking point.
We call on the Maine Legislature to adequately fund vital emergency shelter services, starting with the passage of LD 698, An Act to Sustain Emergency Homeless Shelters in Maine. We urgently need this legislation to continue providing essential services for our most vulnerable neighbors and to preserve first responder and law enforcement resources for other community and public safety needs.
Maine law requires every law enforcement agency to have a homeless diversion protocol, directing officers to refer people to crisis services instead of the criminal justice system. In rural areas where public services are limited, we are often the first and sometimes the only point of contact for individuals who need help. But we aren’t equipped to provide mental healthcare, housing navigation, substance abuse treatment, domestic violence care, or food. An absence of crisis services makes the diversion response protocol a hollow gesture.
When people resort to trespassing on private property or committing petty offenses simply to seek warmth and safety, something is wrong. Every time we arrest someone just to provide them with a place to sleep, we are failing them.
This is not why we got into public service. The threadbare safety net strains law enforcement administratively, psychologically, and of course financially.
And managing and cleaning up homeless encampments in Maine has been notoriously difficult and expensive for the past several years. As frustrating as encampments are, enacting ordinances to “move along” homelessness is not a solution. In Boulder, Colorado, the city spent at least $1.8 million annually enforcing an anti-homelessness ordinance. Responding to homelessness with a reliable shelter system is less costly and more effective.
Many Maine people are on the edge of financial stability. According to recent data from the United Way, 40 percent of Maine households earn too little for basic financial stability and Maine currently has over 4,000 residents known to be experiencing homelessness. But there are just 1,200 shelter beds to serve them. Many of the others will eventually come into contact with law enforcement.
Service providers share countless stories about clients able to maintain work or school amid homelessness because they were able to access a shelter. Shelters allowed them to get back on their feet rather than experience a catastrophic fall. Shelters relieve pressure on law enforcement, and create pathways to stability -so that our communities are healthier and law enforcement can focus on our core duties.
We urge the Maine Legislature to pass LD 698 to support Maine’s emergency shelters and all of the law enforcement and first responders that rely on their partnership. Providing a modest increase in Maine’s shelter operating subsidy — a subsidy that has remained flat for nearly a decade despite both rising costs and increased demand— will make a huge difference in sustaining these vital statewide resources.
The stakes are simple but stark: Without adequate shelters, people will suffer, and law enforcement will be overwhelmed. Investing in shelter services is a safer, cheaper and more effective response to homelessness.
We call on lawmakers to pass LD 698. Prioritize funding for Maine’s emergency shelters so law enforcement can continue to refer people to more appropriate services that offer not only a bed , but a chance at hope and recovery, to those who need it most.