PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — As winter settles into northern Maine, Homeless Services of Aroostook is two weeks behind its construction schedule for a new warming shelter.
The new warming shelter at 160 Airport Drive—located next to the Sister Mary O’ Donnell shelter—will open on Feb. 1. Delays in the installation of the new sprinkler system, which was supposed to be completed by the end of December, have led to the late opening.
Those seeking warmth have been using the dining room at the Sister Mary O’Donnell shelter to avoid the cold. Homeless Services said 26 people experiencing homelessness have used the warming shelter inside the dining room. There is still room for more people to use the warming center which has a capacity of 45 to 50.
“The needs of the residents and the shelter’s operations is increasing just like everyone else,” said Homeless Services Executive Director Kari Bradstreet. “The electric bill is increasing, the water bill is increasing, [and] food is increasing.”
The cold weather and recent snowfall have been driving the Presque Isle homeless shelter close to being over capacity. The Sister Mary O’ Donnell shelter has 49 beds.
Around 10 to 12 people experiencing homelessness are working jobs, and last month, six veterans were being served. Most of the people experiencing homelessness are from the Central Aroostook area, according to Bradstreet.
Over the Christmas holiday, Homeless Services sent out annual letters asking for financial support because funding for the nonprofit is down.
Homeless Services received just under $200,000 in November 2023 made possible through LD 258, which transferred state unappropriated surplus from the general fund to help support all the homeless shelters in Maine, Bradstreet said. Around $5 million was divided between the state’s shelters, but isn’t enough to meet the Presque Isle shelter’s needs, according to Bradstreet. The state funding will help with Homeless Services’ operational costs until June 2025.
Last year, the operating budget for the homeless shelter was estimated at around $700,000. This year the shelter has a $500,000 deficit after receiving state funding, according to Bradstreet.
Bradstreet is working on applying for grants to fill the funding gap. The homeless shelter recently received another $40,000 in funding from the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter-day Saints.
The funds were used to buy bunk beds, mattresses for the bunk beds, cots for the warming shelter, and four sets of washers and dryers divided between the new warming shelter and the homeless shelter.
“We have been receiving a lot of donations of bedding and clothing,” Bradstreet said. “We are really working with the community collaboratively to meet our needs.”
The people experiencing homelessness pick out the bedding and clothing items they need and what’s left over gets taken to Catholic Charities for donation. Catholic Charities in turn gives Homeless Services a voucher for people experiencing homelessness to use at Catholic Charities.
People experiencing homelessness volunteer to help make improvements around the shelter. Eight to 10 residents in the homeless shelter volunteer for the Presque Isle Kiwanis Club and United Way of Aroostook.
Once the warming shelter is officially open there will be more opportunities for volunteers to apply for the overnight shifts, or come into work in the mornings to clean up the bedding areas and help prepare meals.
“We are trying to get out there in the community so faces are present and maybe reduce the stigma a little bit to the homeless population,” Bradstreet said.
