Press Releases

Maine legislators met with, responded to constituent housing concerns

August 12, 2024

Advocates shared stories of housing insecurity and rent increases; asked for federal, state support

Photos: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1OSbd5Fnk-VV1OBNYRxc702uUoq3VwXiW?usp=sharing 

On Monday evening, Mainers living on the front lines of our state’s housing crisis presented their stories and concerns to Maine legislators, who responded directly to constituents in a town hall format. 

Participating legislators included Rep. Cheryl Golek of Harpswell, Rep. Mana Abdi of Lewiston, and Sen. Peggy Rotundo of Lewiston. 

This event was part of a national week of action to call attention to the need to create local, state, and federal programs to sustainably develop homes that are permanently affordable, democratically controlled, and can never be resold for profit.

Auburn resident Gina Morin (they/them) spoke at the event, describing their experience of being unhoused and forced to live in their car. “I struggled to eat and stay warm, going through a quarter of a tank of gas each night,” Morin said. “Being unhoused and ignored by society was a gut punch and nothing eased the shame and heartbreak I felt.” 

Rep. Golek, who serves on the Joint Select Committee on Housing and experienced homelessness as a teenager, responded and spoke of the need for Maine to address source of income discrimination for people seeking housing vouchers. “The housing crisis is beyond a crisis. It’s an emergency and should be treated as such,” she said.

In response to one mobile home resident’s comments, Rep. Abdi said, “the crisis of housing is something that is felt by every person I talk to in my district right now.” She then shared her own story of having her rent increased recently. “I think of all the families in our building on fixed incomes. Where on earth are they supposed to find an extra $300 each month? How does that fit in the budget? What do you cut?”

Morin said they experienced the struggle of trying to save while trying to pay rent each month, creating an inescapable cycle. After four years of living in a motel room, Morin was finally able to secure housing during the COVID-19 pandemic through a mutual aid program. They said, “being housed is the foundation for a stable life,” but stressed that Mainers need more protections against unexpected and extreme rent hikes. “With the Supreme Court ruling, being unhoused is now illegal. That should scare every single one of us. And if anyone thinks you’re immune, think again. It only takes one major catastrophe to lose everything,” Morin said.

Lewiston resident Sheila Smith (she/her), who lives at Country Lane Estates, echoed this sentiment. “When you only have one source of income because you live alone, you never seem to get ahead or even save. It can be very stressful and scary at times, especially with [the possibility of] homelessness being so real.” 

Sen. Rotundo thanked the storytellers for sharing their experiences. “I want you to know how deeply what you shared tonight resonates. This is a reminder of why we do this work at the State House and why this is at the top of the list in terms of priorities.”

Background: 

We all know from our friends, our neighbors, and what we read in the news that Maine’s housing crisis is a major, urgent issue (more here). Ensuring safe, stable housing for Mainers has even been identified as one of our state’s top health issues. 

Mainers around the state and legislators in Augusta are fighting for rent relief, tenant protections and new solutions to Maine’s housing crisis, and have had some significant victories with, for example, the funding of rent relief and housing first programs in the last legislative session. We need to keep fighting. Ultimately, the solution to the housing crisis in Maine (and around the country) includes: 

  • Protecting tenants from unnecessary fees, massive year-to-year rent increases, discrimination, and unfair eviction, and providing rent relief for tenants who need it. 
  • Fully funding the development and administration of affordable housing for people with low and moderate incomes, including permanently-affordable public housing.
  • Strengthening smart growth incentives and zoning changes to allow us to better grow our communities without hurting our natural and agricultural resources. 
  • Ensuring every community is part of the solution, actively supporting the development of the housing we need.
  • Repealing policies that criminalize homelessness and increasing support for “housing first” solutions
  • Guaranteeing legal representation for all tenants in eviction proceedings to make it easier for tenants to avoid eviction and remain in their homes. 
  • Requiring landlords to recognize tenants’ right to organize tenant unions and collectively bargain. Protect union activities and prohibit landlords from retaliating against tenants for organizing or speaking out about tenant issues.  Require landlords to negotiate with tenants over fair rent increases and living conditions.

On the federal level, the solution includes: 

  • A Green New Deal for public housing
  • Prohibiting large financial corporations and hedge funds from owning single-family rental units
  • Decriminalizing homelessness and increasing funding for services to reduce it by taxing the rich
  • Establishing a national agency to develop social housing, and directly funding the creation of permanently affordable housing

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Maine People’s Alliance (MPA) was founded in Lewiston in 1982 and has grown to be the largest community organization in Maine, and one of the largest in the country. MPA is a powerful grassroots network of more than 32,000 members who work together on issues that include but are not limited to climate change, toxics use reduction, health care access, affordable housing, racial justice, and immigrant rights.

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Contact: Kate Gardner, [email protected], (603) 455-5829