March 29, 2024
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Local help aids services for homeless

PRESQUE ISLE – Homeless Services of Aroostook officials are used to operating on a shoe-string budget, but with more people seeking help this year and not enough money to go around, officials say local support has kept them afloat.

Susan Mitchell, HSA executive director, said Friday that the organization has received about $5,000 from local businesses, churches and communities since June, when it announced that it was in a “crisis situation” and was in need of immediate help to keep its doors open.

The shelter has been open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year since 1984. Last year, HSA assisted 429 people; 85 percent of them were Aroostook County residents. This year, Mitchell said, HSA served 470 people between January and August, and it hasn’t even hit its busy season yet.

“More and more of our people are small families,” Mitchell said. “We’re seeing families of three and four. We’re seeing moms, dads and infants; just working, poor people.”

The trend, she said, is not a good sign. But one thing that has allowed HSA to serve these families all day every day – instead of cutting back to a nighttime shelter – is local support.

HSA receives funding quarterly from the United Way and the Maine State Housing Authority. This October, when they receive funding allocations, officials are hoping to pay some of the organization’s back bills and cover payrolls.

But Mitchell said it’s just not enough to handle the need. HSA has sought funding from the communities that send people to the Presque Isle homeless shelter for services, but sometimes those requests are ignored.

That leaves local donations, and in the past few months, Mitchell said, HSA has received an outpouring of support. During Labor Day weekend, Movie Gallery and Pizza Hut in town did a joint fundraiser and food drive for the homeless shelter, raising about $500 in cash for the organization and bringing in loads of canned goods. A local church collecting quarters has raised $129 in four weeks. The Irish Setter Pub is working on a raffle to benefit the shelter and Martha and Mary’s food pantry.

And just this week, Mitchell said, she received a call from Burrelle’s, a news clipping service in town. Officials decided to focus their charitable efforts on helping HSA and the homeless shelter. Mitchell said she sent a wish list, and Burrelle’s officials are figuring out what they want to do in terms of fundraising.

“Everybody’s responding to our call for help,” Mitchell said. “I think people are starting to realize that with the price of things being so high, we are all just a few paychecks away from being homeless when it comes down to it.”

The support has galvanized HSA officials’ determination to remain open, despite any financial crunches that come their way.

“We are bound and determined to stay open in Aroostook County. We’re just going to struggle through to do that,” Mitchell said. “I hope that people continue to realize that we’re here, and donate when they can through any avenue that they can. We still need help.”

For more information or to make a donation, contact Homeless Services of Aroostook at 764-5114, call the shelter at 764-4125, or visit www.helpinmaine.org.


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