Dozens of asylum seekers are living in the new emergency shelter in Portland.
Organizers and officials hope this can help solve multiple problems facing the city.
After getting pushed back a day, asylum seekers started checking in at the new emergency shelter Thursday morning.
The Portland Parks & Recreation buses loaded up and left the Homeless Services Center around 10 a.m.
The opening was moved due to paperwork being filed later than expected, according to city spokesperson Jessica Grondin.
When they arrived, they got in line, and then loaded bags out of pickup trucks.
Carlos from Angola said he stayed at the Homeless Services Center for about two months and is optimistic.
“The old one wasn’t bad, was good, I stayed there about two months, and I hope the new can be better than the old, I hope so,” Carlos said.
The city of Portland said there will be different services offered there compared with the other shelter.
The city claims this will open up around 120 beds at the Homeless Services Center, in addition to the 50-bed expansion that was approved by the City Council on Nov. 13.
Thanks to that expansion, 10 beds each week have been made available and offered up to people living under the Casco Bay Bridge, but at last check, not all beds have been filled.
