Can you please help end homelessness in central Maine? Homelessness is on the rise, and the need for emergency shelter has never been greater. Bread of Life Ministries operates shelters for families and veterans, which together provide roughly 13,000 bed days per year. Sadly, it’s not enough.

Bread of Life is forced to say no to roughly 600 phone calls each year from our neighbors seeking shelter, leaving individuals or families without safe housing. Right now, Bread of Life is raising funds to “Never Say No Again” to ensure that no one is left out in the cold.

The family facility expansion will add six new single beds, eight new beds in family rooms, and extra shared space. The veteran shelter expansion will establish a new handicap-accessible bedroom and bathroom on the first floor, an expanded kitchen/dining area and two additional bedrooms on the second floor.

Bread of Life is not just a shelter from the elements, but a home where people feel safe and welcomed upon arrival. The shelter provides a structured program where people work with an on-site case manager throughout the week toward goals such as permanent housing, education, employment and the underlying reasons for their homelessness. Case managers work with people to become self-sufficient by connecting them with resources and support networks that provide new opportunities for success.

Bread of Life programs are incredibly successful, helping approximately 90 percent of its homeless people transition to apartments and jobs, and become contributing members of the community.

Any contribution to this capital campaign will help Bread of Life achieve the vision of never saying no. When winter comes, you will know that you have made a difference in the lives of those who experience homelessness.

Please consider contributing to this most important effort. For further information, call 626-3434 or visit mainebreadoflife.org.

George and Suzane Beyea

Augusta