Jennifer Hawkins is president and CEO of Avesta Housing, which provides affordable homes to thousands of Mainers, including those from 638 households who were previously homeless. Dean Klein, MSW, is executive director of the Maine Continuum of Care, which secures HUD funding for housing and essential support services. 

Everyone in Maine knows we’re facing a housing crisis. The data proves it — but we also feel it every day.

When our adult children can’t afford to rent with friends, when young families are priced out of modest starter homes and when workers drive long distances because there’s no housing near their jobs, we all feel the strain. The housing shortage affects every corner of Maine, from our most rural towns to our busiest cities.

This instability hits hardest for those with the least to fall back on — people living with low incomes, disabilities, addiction or trauma. For them, the lack of affordable, stable housing can mean the difference between safety and crisis, between recovery and relapse, between having a community and facing homelessness.

The solution is straightforward: more homes that people can afford, and for some, housing that includes the support needed to maintain stability.

Permanent supportive housing — affordable homes paired with comprehensive wrap-around services — has proven to be one of the most effective strategies for preventing and ending homelessness.

Maine has been a national leader in investing in these solutions. Across the state, there are currently 1,624 permanent supportive homes, including 85 owned and managed by Avesta Housing. These homes offer more than shelter — they provide the foundation of health, healing and dignity.

Residents receive assistance in accessing health care, employment and recovery support, enabling them to rebuild their lives and reconnect with their communities.

When Mainers have a stable place to live, everyone benefits. Permanent supportive housing reduces the strain on emergency shelters, hospitals and jails that are far more costly and far less effective.

Studies show that providing housing with support costs less than cycling people through crisis services. It’s compassionate, practical and fiscally responsible.

We know what works — and it’s working.

But Maine cannot do this work alone. The federal Continuum of Care (CoC) program provides the funding that makes much of this progress possible. CoC grants are a lifeline, sustaining the housing and services that prevent people from returning to shelters or the streets.

Now, a proposed federal funding cut threatens to dismantle that progress. HUD’s change could affect more than 1,200 people across Maine, forcing them to lose the federal housing support they currently receive and likely leading to their return to shelters or the streets — wiping out years of investment and forcing hundreds of Mainers back into homelessness. 

The impact would ripple across our communities, increasing demand for shelters, hospitals and emergency services already stretched to the limit.

Earlier this week, Maine’s Attorney General joined 19 other states in suing HUD to stop this reckless dismantling of a system that we know is working, saving lives, and saving tax dollars.

While we hope the lawsuit is successful, we also strongly encourage our elected representatives in Congress to stand firm on CoC funding, both here in Maine and nationwide.

As leaders in housing and homelessness, the Maine Continuum of Care and Avesta Housing share a mission: to make homelessness in Maine rare, brief and non-recurring. This vision relies on a strong and reliable federal partnership.

As Congress works to finalize the FY 2025 budget, we urge lawmakers to:

• Renew all eligible Maine CoC grants to maintain existing supportive housing.
• Protect the federal CoC program from harmful cuts.
• Reject new federal requirements that undermine fair housing and local decision-making.

At the same time, we support improvements that strengthen the CoC program — streamlining administration, reducing bureaucracy and enabling providers to focus on what matters most: keeping people housed.

Here in Maine, we’re proud to lead by example, following nonpartisan best practices.

The 17-member Maine CoC Board of Directors includes public and private sector representatives with expertise in housing, public health, safety and homelessness prevention. The CoC chair also serves as the governor’s senior housing advisor — ensuring accountability, collaboration and alignment with Maine’s statewide housing priorities and goals.

With continued state leadership and strong federal support, Maine can continue to show the nation what works: compassionate, evidence-based solutions that make homelessness rare, brief and non-recurring.