Hope House in Bangor will use $2.55 million in pandemic relief funding from Penobscot County to expand a program that helps people transition from living in the homeless shelter to a permanent place of their own.
Hope House Health and Living Center, run by Penobscot Community Health Care, includes a shelter serving 64 people plus 48 transitional housing units and a primary care clinic offering recovery and mental health services.
County commissioners approved funding for PCHC last week, which it will use to add 10 transitional housing units, said Lori Dwyer, the organization’s president and CEO. Tenants pay rent for the single-person rooms at 179 Corporate Drive as they gain employment and carve a path to independence, she said.
PCHC also plans to expand its services for the tenants, meaning it will hire roughly 10 new staff members over time. They’ll help tenants navigate their recovery and access mental health services.
This expansion at Bangor’s largest homeless shelter aligns with some of the priorities of county commissioners, who have allocated a portion of their $29.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to groups focused on housing, mental health and substance use disorder, Dwyer said. Adding additional transitional units helps serve the city’s most vulnerable population, especially as finding affordable housing in Maine remains difficult.
“Our project hits all three of those priorities in a meaningful and concrete way,” Dwyer said. “We are intimately involved in all the work with folks sleeping outside and the effort to bring them indoors.”
Penobscot County has allocated more than $19.5 million of its ARPA funding, which leaves about $10 million available, County Administrator Scott Adkins said. The award to PCHC is the second largest that commissioners have approved for an organization, he said.
PCHC is in the process of finalizing architectural plans for the expansion. A second floor will be added to the transitional housing section of Hope House, which will likely be built using modular construction.
People must be at least 18 years old to live in the private rooms, and they can stay for up to two years. Tenants also have access to laundry, a shared kitchenette and common rooms. Their rent is based on guidelines set by the Maine State Housing Authority, also known as MaineHousing, based in Augusta.
Dwyer anticipates the project will break ground in October if permitting is not delayed. Construction is likely to wrap up in late spring or early summer of next year, she said.
Hope House is the only low-barrier emergency shelter in the region north of Waterville, Dwyer said. A low-barrier approach means criminal background checks, income verification, program participation, sobriety and identification are not requirements for a client to stay at the shelter, according to MaineHousing.
Many of the clients that Hope House staff members work with experience what Dwyer called “tri-morbidity,” or a combination of mental illness, substance use disorder and chronic physical conditions, such as diabetes or heart disease.
“They are highly vulnerable, and it is a challenge to get them long-term housing,” she said. “This population is also aging quickly. We have seen the number of people over the age of 62 who are using shelter services double since 2019.”
The $2.55 million in pandemic relief funds will cover the cost of construction, plus furniture and fixtures, Dwyer said. PCHC will look at other funding streams, such as potential new funding coming to the state legislature this year and billing reimbursements from MaineCare, to hire new staff.
PCHC has also applied for ARPA funding through the city of Bangor, though it had not received notification about the status of its application as of Tuesday.
New hires would work as housing and wellness navigators, Dwyer said, helping tenants find permanent housing. They might also focus on job coaching to help tenants land a reliable job and start saving money for their futures.
The idea is not only to add units, but to make the environment more supportive and uplifting, especially for those recovering from addiction. Typically resources are cobbled together to assist tenants, but the improvements will mean dedicated staff will focus on this group, Dwyer said.
