In the recent article “Complex worker shortage problem strains businesses, employees in central Maine,” published May 22, reporter Greg Levinsky tackled a challenging problem well. However, the topic requires and deserves an in-depth dive, perhaps published in a series. I was interviewed by Greg for his piece and accurately quoted; however, much was also, out of necessity, left out.

I said that one issue impacting the lack of labor was the critical shortage of affordable rental property in the Waterville area (a problem throughout Maine), tying the chaos of homelessness with the inability to apply for some jobs (requiring an address and the certainty of place), as well as the challenge of being a reliable (and clean) employee when one lives in their car, a tent, or on the street. While some employers will hire felons, many will not and that is a cause as well.

We also need a tough conversation about how wages between $16-$20 per hour are not sufficient to allow for the lease of a one-bedroom apartment (even if one can be found), which now average $800-$900 per month and require two months’ rent (sometimes even three — the first, last and security deposit). Imagine the need for a minimum of $1,600, sometimes almost $3,000, to rent an apartment.

Also, increasingly, although it is illegal, landlords are refusing to accept housing vouchers.

Another critical factor impacting the labor shortage is the lack of public transportation in the area, thus often requiring an employee to have a car, a convenient but expensive need. Those who do not have a car must live close to their job but the apartments closer to Waterville’s downtown area are pricier. Even at a wage of $20 per hour, it really makes no sense for anyone to take the leap of faith required to begin a low-wage job, especially if they support children.

The General Assistance Program and other state benefits for the unemployed are not consistent with the cost of living (GA is still in the 1970s) but insufficient as they are, they also evaporate for most people the minute they earn a wage, placing them in a perilous position of relying on the vagaries of scheduling, seasonal demands in the market, and whims of employers offering jobs that come with no security.

Add the demands of expensive child care, risk of having no paid sick time or emergency time, and it should be readily understood that leaving the demeaning life of “welfare” becomes a risk (and one does not easily bounce back and forth between employment and unemployed benefits; this causes gaps in care and many perils).

Another cause of the labor shortage is Maine’s older population. Those who are young and able might leave, those able to work can’t always risk it, and Maine’s older population is not a feasible and consistent source of labor to fill Maine’s many low wage jobs.

In my role as on-call clergy three days a week with the local Interfaith Council and pastor of a ministry for the most vulnerable, Starfish Village, I work in these trenches daily. Maine is years behind where it needs to be in the building of affordable, decent rental property (and regulation of it as well).

And although it is fashionable in some quarters to wallow in the false belief that people don’t want to work because their lives are so sweet on the dole, my experience argues vehemently against that falsehood.

The Rev. Maureen Ausbrook is pastor of Starfish Village Ministry and clergy member of the Waterville-Winslow Interfaith Council.

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