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The only emergency homeless shelters in midcoast Maine are looking to expand to meet the growing demand for their services.
Tedford Housing, a Brunswick nonprofit, currently operates two different emergency shelters that it’s planning to consolidate into a new building that’s set to break ground next spring, which would increase the group’s total capacity by 60%.
While there’s no clear data showing that homelessness is growing on the midcoast, a recent study did find that housing has been getting less affordable in the region — especially around Brunswick — and the need for Tedford Housing’s services also appears to be going up.
Andrew Lardie, the group’s executive director, said the shelter has never been able to fully support the population of people without homes in the midcoast, but while they used to have to turn away three-quarters of people wanting shelter, now they have to turn away 90 percent.
That’s why the group has to upgrade to a new building that can host more people, Lardie said. Its two existing shelters are both in downtown Brunswick: one with 16 beds for adults, and another with six units for families. The new shelter, to be located in Cook’s Corner, will have 24 adult beds and 10 4-bedroom units for families.
Besides providing shelter, Tedford’s facilities also connect guests with other resources, including heating assistance and case managers.
“For that family that’s living through a crisis, the reason they’re able to keep punching the clock and keep your business open and keep their kids in school might be because they have a case manager from Tedford to help them weather the crisis that they’re living through,” Lardie said.
Tedford has raised $5.9 million of its $8.3 million goal, Lardie said. Those funds include a $200,000 donation from the town of Brunswick, where almost a third of the shelters’ guests come from.
Brunswick Town Councilor Abby King said its contribution will come from leftover pandemic relief funds. King pointed to other signs of the growing demand for Tedford’s services, including an increase in local eviction rates. That all comes as Brunswick has become more of a service center for the coast.
“Whether it was planned or not, it’s sort of where we’re at,” King said. “I’m really grateful and proud of council that we’re taking these steps toward acknowledging that.”
Other supporters of the expansion have included regional health care providers, Cumberland County and the towns of Harpswell, Woolwich, Phippsburg and Arrowsic.
Lardie said he hopes Tedford will complete the construction of the new shelter by spring of 2025. To raise the remaining funds, he said the organization is still seeking donations from individuals, agencies, corporations and other towns and cities in the area, such as Bath, Topsham and Freeport.
As for the buildings that currently house the shelters, Lardie said Tedford owns the adult shelter, so they’ll likely sell it, but the Brunswick Housing Authority owns the family shelter. He said whatever happens to the buildings, he hopes they’ll serve a similar purpose in the future.
“This is really a once-in-a-generation moment,” Lardie said. “Because Tedford has been doing a lot with a little for a long time. And this is the first time in our 35 years of operation that we’re going to the whole community and saying, ‘We need your help to make this happen.’”
