Homelessness on the rise in Kennebunk: What town officials are doing to help

KENNEBUNK, Maine — A local single mother raises her two daughters, while at the same time battling cancer and searching for affordable housing as she moves from one costly hotel room to another after losing the unit she had been renting.

A single man in his 50s struggles with mental illness and lacks the transportation needed to access medical and therapeutic care. As a result of this scenario, he is booted from his apartment and loses his job. He squats in the lobby of a local hotel and sleeps in the woods.

A man in his 60s suffers from depression and substance use disorder. He is not allowed to stay in the local shelter. He lives in a tent, and then in a hospital, and then with a low-barrier treatment program that provides temporary housing. This all happens over a seven-year period.

These are just few of several stories about homeless individuals in Kennebunk. Town officials shared them with the Kennebunk Select Board during a presentation on local homelessness on Tuesday, Jan. 23.

Homelessness in Kennebunk jumped 30%, from 13 individuals to 17 in a single year, during the period between July 2022 and November 2022 and between July 2023 and November 2023, according to Karen Winton, the town’s social services manager. She presented the report along with Rachel Schlein and Tricia Ledoux, two behavioral-health liaisons with the local police department.

“That might not sound significant, but for a small number of people, that’s a pretty big increase,” Schlein said.

The encounters Winton, Schlein and Ledoux have had with homeless individuals during the same timeframe also have skyrocketed, they reported. The town interacted with a homeless individual 40 times between July and November 2022. Between July and November 2023, that number jumped to 141, for an increase of 253%.

According to Schlein, that statistic indicates that town officials are working with individuals for longer periods of time than before because current resources fall considerably short of the overall need.

During the last fiscal year, the town spent $27,825 more in General Assistance than it did the year before to help the homeless find temporary shelter at hotels, motels and short-term rental units. That was a jump of 375%.

According to Ledoux, the situation is worsened by the fact that there are no “inherent supports” for a person when they are placed in temporary housing. Such housing differs from a shelter program, “where you would have a case manager and a connection to other resources,” the kind of longer-term support that can “sustain someone beyond their time of need.”

Ledoux said the town works primarily with homeless individuals between the ages of 31 and 60. However, young people are very much among the un-housed population in RSU 21, the local school district. During the 2019-2020 academic year, there were 11 homeless students, according to the district. That number rose steadily in the years that followed but climbed significantly to 28 students during the 2022-2023 school year.

Overall factors contributing to homelessness include trauma, mental illness, substance use, and a lack of enough income, even for some who do have jobs or receive Social Security, according to Winton, Schlein and Ledoux.

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Winton, Schlein and Ledoux attended a legislative summit on homelessness at the Sanford Performing Arts Center in December. According to Winton, 90 people representing 24 municipalities were present at the event, which York County Community Action Corporation organized. The summit led to the formation of the York County Homelessness Advocacy Coalition.

Winton informed the Select Board that the Maine Legislature is currently considering two bills – LD2136 and LD 2084 – that are seeking to provide financial support for sheltering un-housed individuals and funding for essential services for victims of crime, who include homeless individuals. She urged people to advocate for these proposed measures.

“We’re feeling really frustrated and stuck with the lack of resources,” she said.

Currently, shelter beds and warming centers are occupying at full capacity. York County Shelter Programs in Alfred only has about three-dozen beds, no match for the 200-plus homeless individuals in the area. A new warming center, located on Brook Street in Sanford, can only allow 44 individuals at a time during its 24-hour operation.

Ledoux said town officials often have a “limited window of opportunity” in which a homeless individual is willing to work with them.

“That can disappear just as fast,” she said. “This is a voluntary basis. People may be looking for services, but we may not be able to keep engagement going, based on certain circumstances.”

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What Kennebunk is doing to help the homeless

Select Board Chair Shiloh Schulte asked Winton how the town can best act to increase its capacity to help its un-housed population. Winton replied that people could share stories like the ones she and Ledoux and Schlein shared during the meeting – the ones about the mother with cancer, the man who sleeps in the woods, and the man whose car was repossessed, as well as others.

“We need to tell these stories and help people who are in positions of decision-making and power and have the financial ability to move money around,” Winton said. “They need to hear this too and know that it’s important to our community.”

Winton acknowledged that homelessness isn't necessarily the first thing that comes to mind when someone thinks of Kennebunk.

“It doesn’t mean it’s not a part of our community,” she said. “If we have the ability to advocate for those resources by engaging those at government levels, that is important.”

It will take time to increase the number of beds and shelters and warming centers in the town and throughout the region, Winton added.

“It’s about getting creative,” she said.

Schlein said increasing the building capacity for shelters is a top priority, followed by focusing on more affordable housing and improving the overall mental health system.

Select Board Member Miriam Whitehouse said she recently held a successful blanket drive to help the homeless.

“People definitely want to help,” Whitehouse said. “I think you can tap into that desire.”

Schulte agreed. He urged Winton, Schlein and Ledoux to keep in contact with the Select Board about what is needed and what can be done to address the issue.

“If there are concrete things this community can do – not necessarily just this board – we should be making those very public,” he said. “People want to help.”

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Homelessness rises in Kennebunk: What town officials are doing to help