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| SPECIAL HIGHLIGHT |
HEALTH CARE CRISIS USA: Resources for more information |
| Health Care by the Numbers |
18,000 deaths blamed on lack of insurance USA Today |
|
US Health Care Expenditures |
Medical bills trigger half of bankruptcies MSNBC |
|
The Case for a National Health Program |
|
We don't need insurance: we need GUARANTEED HEALTHCARE! |
|
TOP TEN REASONS FOR ENACTING A SINGLE PAYER HEALTHCARE SYSTEM Click here for: PDF Version |
|
Cost of Healthcare: More Americans Priced Out of Care Click here for: PDF Version |
|
UN Human Development Report [PDF] (see page 27!) |
|
World Health Organization Report 2000 [PDF] |
Facts & Sources from Michael Moore's SiCKO movie |
|
'SiCKO' Truth Squad Sets CNN Straight! |
"Poor People United"
Photograph courtesy of Jenn Barton.
| home
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volunteer events & activities | meetings | pictures | video | RESOURCES & LINKS! economic human rights | healthcare justice | tell your story |
P.O.W.E.R. Resources & Links Table of Contents |
| arts & culture |
| video & film |
| reports |
| articles |
| educational materials & resources |
| statistics & facts |
| resources for basic needs |
| legislative resources |
| p.o.w.e.r. materials |
| links to other organizations |
| A note to our friends: we hope you'll please keep in mind that this is an on-going work in progress. We hope to add many more resources in the days and months ahead, and to get them all - you guessed it - better organized!!! Thanks for your patience and continued support! Read more about this page... |
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Reports *A work in progress: more coming soon!*
***NEW! Povery in Maine Update [pdf file]
Prepared for the Maine Community Action Association (MCAA) by Ann W. Acheson, Ph.D., Margaret Chase Smith Center for Public Policy, University of Maine, Orono, ME - Feb 2008.
http://www.mainecommunityaction.org/docs/PovertyFeb08_8x11.pdf
Poverty in Maine - 2006
[pdf file] Prepared for MCAA
by Ann W. Acheson, Ph.D., Margaret Chase Smith Center for Public
Policy, UMO, Orono, ME - Sep 2006. http://www.umaine.edu/mcsc/Research/2006PovertyRpt/index.html
Poverty in Maine - 2003 [pdf file] - Prepared for MCAA by Ann W. Acheson, Ph.D., Margaret Chase Smith Center for Public Policy, UMO, Orono, ME - May 2003. http://www.umaine.edu/mcsc/Research/HeaSocPol/Poverty_Maine_2003.htm
Poverty in Maine - 2003 [pdf file] - Prepared for MCAA by Ann W. Acheson, Ph.D., Margaret Chase Smith Center for Public Policy, UMO, Orono, ME - May 2003. http://www.umaine.edu/mcsc/Research/HeaSocPol/Poverty_Maine_2003.htm
Families at Risk
Published by Maine Community Action Association; provides detailed information about Low Income Heating Assistance applicants in Maine in the 2006 – 2007 heating season.
http://www.mainecommunityaction.org/docs/Families%20at%20Risk%20v0608.pdf
US POVERTY REPORT -- released April 25, 2007
From Poverty to Prosperity: A National Strategy to Cut Poverty in Half[webpage]
- April 25, 2007 Prepared by The Center for American Progress Task Force on Poverty;
***Report
summary
[webpage]
***Full report [PDF format; very large file = 8.11MB]
***Executive summary [PDF format; 3.86MB]
***Overview of research methods [PDF format; 2.93MB]
***Full report [PDF format; very large file = 8.11MB]
***Executive summary [PDF format; 3.86MB]
***Overview of research methods [PDF format; 2.93MB]
*1 in 8 Americans now lives in poverty (income at/below 100% of poverty level). *1 in 3 Americans is now low-income (income at or below 200% of poverty).
*1/3 of all Americans will experience poverty within a 13-year period.
Discussion
of this report on the AFL-CIO Weblog
[webpage]
This is the first in a series of AFL-CIO blogs on the findings of a new Center for American Progress report, From Poverty to Prosperity: A National Strategy to Cut Poverty in Half.
This
graph is from the AFL-CIO weblog
(please click on it to enlarge).
It helps to illustrate the human toll behind
the numbers, and points out a frightening
reality, the fact that the number of people
living in poverty in the U.S. (37 million)
is greater than the entire population
of the state of California (36.5 million)
Note: these numbers are for the year 2005.
This is the first in a series of AFL-CIO blogs on the findings of a new Center for American Progress report, From Poverty to Prosperity: A National Strategy to Cut Poverty in Half.
This
graph is from the AFL-CIO weblog(please click on it to enlarge).
It helps to illustrate the human toll behind
the numbers, and points out a frightening
reality, the fact that the number of people
living in poverty in the U.S. (37 million)
is greater than the entire population
of the state of California (36.5 million)
Note: these numbers are for the year 2005.
2007 Report on Poverty (Maine) [PDF format]
- February, 2007; Prepared by the Maine State Planning Office:
38 State House Station, Augusta, Maine 04333, 207-287-6077
This report is available online at: http://www.state.me.us/spo/economics/
Maine Kids Count 2007 Report [PDF format]
a report published by the Maine Children's Alliance
Walkin' in New Orleans [Word format]
Report by Pat Gowens, Director of Welfare Warriors & Editor of Mother Warrior Voice
New Orleans: 18 Months After Katrina [PDF format]
Who Lost What? Who's Benefiting? Who's Fighting Back?
Homeless & Hated: [PDF format]
Bias Motivated Violence, Degradation, & Discrimination Against Maine's Homeless
Report published by the Center for the Prevention of Hate Violence, February 10, 2005
The World Health Report 2000
Health Systems: Improving Performance [PDF format]
Report by the UN World Health Organization
Articles *A work in progress: more coming soon!*
New: Maine Poverty Blogspot!
Please use this blog to collect information about Maine poverty. Please post articles, reports, studies, letters to the editor, and personal stories. Please post anything which might facilitate understanding the systems which create poverty so that we can design & build systems which prevent poverty.
http://mainepoverty.blogspot.com
- Protesters decry budget cuts, Portland Press Herald 03/13/2008
- Survey: 1 in 5 Mainers under 5 in poverty, Kennebec Journal 02/29/2008
- Domestic violence programs may face budget cutbacks, Portland Press Herald 02/29/2008
- Vulnerable
population feels brunt of budget cuts, Portland
Press Herald 02/26/2008
- What Are Economic Human Rights? --By POWER's Economic Human Rights Taskforce, Published in the February 2008 MAIN Update.
- The Presence
of Justice: An Intro to Economic Human Rights
[Word]
--By POWER's Economic Human Rights Taskforce
By Wendy Koch, USA TODAY
Justices Uphold Welfare Home Searches -11/27/07
By David G. Savage, Los Angeles Times
Wealth Gap Calls for Hike in Minimum Wage -11/28/07
By Sen. Ethan Strimling & Rep. John Tuttle, Portland Press Herald
Contact the Joint Standing Committee on Labor & tell them MAINE NEEDS A RAISE!!!
Senator
Ethan Strimling
(D-Cumberland), Chair;
Senator Nancy B. Sullivan (D-York)
Senator Dana L. Dow (R-Lincoln)
Representative John L. Tuttle, Jr. (D-Sanford), Chair
Representative Troy Dale Jackson (D-Allagash)
Representative Herbert E. Clark (D-Millinocket)
Representative Timothy E. Driscoll (D-Westbrook)
Representative Anne M. Haskell (D-Portland)
Representative Richard John Burns (D-Berwick)
Representative Brian M. Duprey (R-Hampden)-Ranking Minority Member
Representative James M. Hamper (R-Oxford)
Representative Richard M. Sykes (R-Harrison)
Representative Douglas A. Thomas (R-Ripley)
Mailing Address: Committee on Labor, 100 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0100
Hearing Room: Room 220, Cross State Office Building - phone (207) 287-1333
Barely
Getting By and Facing a Maine WinterSenator Nancy B. Sullivan (D-York)
Senator Dana L. Dow (R-Lincoln)
Representative John L. Tuttle, Jr. (D-Sanford), Chair
Representative Troy Dale Jackson (D-Allagash)
Representative Herbert E. Clark (D-Millinocket)
Representative Timothy E. Driscoll (D-Westbrook)
Representative Anne M. Haskell (D-Portland)
Representative Richard John Burns (D-Berwick)
Representative Brian M. Duprey (R-Hampden)-Ranking Minority Member
Representative James M. Hamper (R-Oxford)
Representative Richard M. Sykes (R-Harrison)
Representative Douglas A. Thomas (R-Ripley)
Mailing Address: Committee on Labor, 100 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0100
Hearing Room: Room 220, Cross State Office Building - phone (207) 287-1333
By Erik Eckholm, New York Times
After the strike: In June 1987, Local 14 walked out of International Paper’s Jay
mill. Twenty
years later,
the legacy of Maine’s
most
notorious
labor fight lives on....
Maine Biz, May 28
2007, by Sara Donnelly; photo (at left)
courtesy of Rene Brochu; "Twenty years haven’t blurred
Roland Samson’s memory of the day he decided to strike the
Andro mill. It was June 1987 and Local 14, the 1,250 member chapter of
the United
Paperworkers International Union at the International Paper mill, or
Andro mill, as it’s known to some here in Jay, had relocated
its
meeting to the town gymnasium in nearby Livermore Falls to accommodate
the entire group." Read more.... Activists Shake Up Capitol With Sit-Ins For Health Care: 22 Arrested After Health Care Sit-Ins
Hartford Courant, June 2 2007, article by Christopher Keating, Capitol Bureau Chief;
"On one of the busiest days of the year at the state Capitol, 22 demonstrators were arrested Friday as they called for universal health care and a single-payer health system. The activists were taken into custody at various locations throughout the building, prompting the heaviest police presence at the Capitol this year. Officers were stationed in the House and Senate galleries and outside the doors of the chambers to ensure order." Read more...
Activists seeking to put health-care demand on ballot (Maine)
Portland Press Herald, May 4, 2007, article by Kevin Wack, PPH Staff Writer;
"Voters will have a chance next year to decide whether the state should adopt a single-payer health-care system if organizers of a new campaign can gather enough signatures to put the issue on the statewide ballot...." Read more...
U.S. Economy Leaving Record Numbers in Severe Poverty 2/25/07
Poverty Greatest Threat to Kid's Welfare Mar 6, 2007. Refers to Maine Kids Count 2007 [PDF Format] published by the Maine Children's Alliance.
Peacework Magazine's collection of articles they've published by King & about his legacy.
Educational materials & resources
*A
work in progress: more coming soon!*
POWER's
Arts
& Culture Page:
Featuring
arts & culture in the movement to end poverty
Featured
Artist: Ron Casanova, founder of
Artists for a Better America. Pictured at left: Heart Disease Kills, by Ron Casanova.
VIDEOS available on our ARTS & CULTURE PAGE:
-
POWER's
World Health Day Movie,
- Poor Voices United's Health Care Crisis USA,
- The Media College's Copy This Tape,
- Poor Voices United's Health Care Crisis USA,
- The Media College's Copy This Tape,
-
Trailers for Skylight Pictures' Poverty
Outlaw,
Outriders,
& more!
- FULL length documentary The Revolution Will Not Be Televised!
- AND MUCH MORE! Check it out!
- FULL length documentary The Revolution Will Not Be Televised!
- AND MUCH MORE! Check it out!
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS for POWER's Arts & Culture page!
Hear Our Stories, Know Our Names!
Sponsored by the Maine Council of Churches, Hear Our Stories, Know Our Names is a drama performed by and about people living in poverty who have experienced homelessness. This drama has been seen by thousands from the New England area from Caribou, Maine to Portsmouth, NH., Northeast Harbor to Moultonboro, NH. If you are interested in helping with this project or scheduling a performance in your community, contact Dolores Vail 772-1918 or dvail(at)mainecouncilof churches.org.
Resource Library: Universtity of the Poor [webpage]
Great training materials & educational articles produced by various leaders of the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign / University of the Poor.
List of Films About Poverty [PDF format]
An Annotated Bibiliography, courtesty of the Poverty Initiative.
American Friends Service Committee's Lending Library of films & videos!
April 4th Project:
Taking Up Dr. King's Challenge: A Year of Reflection, Education, and Action
A project of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) & Fund the Dream.
Also see Peacework Magazine's collection of articles they've published by King & about his legacy.
Katrina: Listening with Our Hearts [webpage]
An Immersion Experience in the Gulf Coast; published by the Poverty Initiative, cost - $20 donation
Resources on unjust child removal / child protective issues [webpage]
From the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform website: includes lots of resources, includingbooks, articles, reports, & websites.
Battle For Broad Educational Supplement [PDF]
Educational supplement designed by the University of the Poor to accompany the documentary Battle For Broad, produced by Skylight Pictures & the Media College of the University of the Poor. Visit the new video section of our Arts & Culture Page to watch the trailer for Battle for Broad
Statistics & facts (also see Reports, above)
*A
work in progress: more coming soon!*
2010 Federal Poverty Guidelines --NEW!
Department of Health & Human Services webpage: federal government's poverty guidelines
Maine Equal Justice Partners webpage: breaks information down for monthly / annual income
Poverty Guidelines: Research & Measurement [webpage]
From US Department of Health & Human Services website. Contains (some) information about how the federal poverty guidelines were developed and continue to be used today, and generally how poverty is measured by the federal government.
U.S. Hunger Fact Sheets [webpage]
From America's Second Harvest website.
***NEW! POVERTY PULSE SURVEY
Catholic Campaign for Human Development Poverty Pulse, Wave II [PDF]
- January, 2007 Catholic Campaign for Human Development survey on American attitudes toward poverty; Also see Poverty Pulse, Wave IV [PDF] Low-Income Poverty Pulse, Wave IV [PDF]
Also: Take the POVERTY PULSE TOUR [htm]
Resources for basic needs (Maine)
Includes resources for education, food, housing, healthcare, childcare, employment, legal help, etc
*A
work in progress: more coming soon!*
General | Education | Energy | Food | Healthcare | Housing | Legal
General
Resources General | Education | Energy | Food | Healthcare | Housing | Legal
- 2-1-1
Maine
There is a great new resource called "2-1-1 Maine" to help people find various
health & human services. This service is available by phone & also over the internet,
24 hours a day, 7 days a week. To access 2-1-1 Maine:
- By phone: just dial 2-1-1 from any phone.
- By internet: www.211maine.org
- Search
for individual services in 2-1-1 Maine's directory:
211maineportal.communityos.org - *If you're having an emergency, dial 9-1-1.
- Community Action Projects (CAP agencies)
- People's
Regional Opportunity Program (PROP)
Serves all communities in Cumberland County, Maine:
510 Cumberland Avenue, Portland, ME 04101
Phone: (207)874-1140| www.propeople.org - Maine
Community Action Association
Association of all Community Action Projects (CAP agencies) in Maine.
PO Box 200, East Wilton, ME 04234-0200
Phone: (207)645-4287, ext. 5300 | www.mainecommunityaction.org - List of all of Maine's CAP agencies, including
locations &
contact information:
www.mainecommunityaction.org/members.htm - Department
of Health & Human Services (DHHS)
DHHS office in Portland, Maine
161 Marginal Way, Portland, ME 04101
Phone (207) 822-2000 or 1-800-482-7520, TDD/TTY 1-888-720-1925 - List of all DHHS
offices in the state of Maine, including locations & contacts:
www.maine.gov/dhhs/DHSaddresses.htm - National Association for State Community Services Programs
******
Education Resources
- Opportunity
Maine
163 Lancaster St., Suite B, Portland, Maine 04101
Phone: (207) 699-5880, Fax: (207) 699-5885 | www.opportunitymaine.org
Opportunity Maine is a new program that will make college more affordable for Maine students. Beginning with any loans that a student takes in January 2008, he or she will be eligible to claim a large tax credit to pay student loans after they graduate. To be eligible, graduates must work and pay taxes in Maine after they finish school – but there are no restrictions on leaving Maine for graduate school or programs such as the Peace Corps. - Parents
As Scholars
The Parents as Scholars (PaS) program is a student aid program that helps low-income parents in two or four-year college programs. It was created by the Maine Legislature in 1997 as part our state's welfare reform plan. PaS is run by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) through the ASPIRE Program. Only parents who are eligible for, but not necessarily receiving, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families with Children (TANF, formerly AFDC) are eligible for PaS.
guidelines & information: www.mejp.org/pas_guide.htm
how to apply: www.mejp.org/pas_guide.htm#anchor1535108
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Energy Resources
Fuel Assistance
- Low-Income
Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
If you live in Cumberland County, Maine:
People's Regional Opportunity Program: (207) 553-5800
510 Cumberland Ave, Portland, ME 04101 | www.propeople.org - If you live in other
counties in Maine:
www.mainecommunityaction.org/members.htm or call 2-1-1 - If you live in other
states (Federal LIHEAP Program):
www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ocs/liheap/ - Citizen's Energy
88 Black Falcon Avenue, Suite 342, Boston, Massachusetts 02210
Phone: (617) 338-6300 | www.citizensenergy.com/main/Home.html - Campaign
for Home Energy Assistance (202) 429-8855
1615 L Street NW, Suite 520, Washington, DC 20036
Energy Efficiency
- Appliance
Replacement Program
Designed to help low-income households reduce their energy costs through replacement of older refrigerators, other home appliances, & light bulbs that are inefficient & expensive to operate, & through consumer education. A program of Maine State Housing Authority. Call toll free: (800) 452-4668 | www.mainehousing.org/PROGRAMSApplianceReplacement.aspx?ProgramID=28 - Home Energy Loan Program (HELP)
Offers loans at a low fixed rate of only 3.95% (4.194%APR) for home improvements that increase home energy efficiency. Loan amounts range from $2,800 to $30,000, with loan terms of up to 15 years. An energy audit is required. HELP loans may be used to finance: Home energy audits; Insulation, air sealing, and weather stripping; Heating system repair or replacement; Energy Star rated windows and appliances; Storm doors and storm windows; Ventilation and moisture controls; and Roof repairs (if attic is insulated to a minimum R38 value). A program of Maine State Housing Authority. Call toll free: (800) 452-4668
Website: www.mainehousing.org/PROGRAMSHelp.aspx?ProgramID=32 - Weatherization
& Central Heating Improvement Program (CHIP)
Provides grants to low-income homeowners to improve home energy efficiency & perform energy-related repairs. A program of Maine State Housing Authority.
Call toll free: (800) 452-4668
www.mainehousing.org/PROGRAMSWeatherization.aspx?ProgramID=49 - State
of Maine energy webpage - Office of the
Governor: Energy
New webpage launched to help Maine residents with energy concerns:
www.maine.gov/governor/baldacci/policy/energy.shtml
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Food Resources
Food Pantries
- Emergency
Food
Assistance Resources, Maine Department of Agriculture
Lists various food pantries and soup kitchens by county
Cumberland County: http://www.state.me.us/agriculture/co/tefap/Cumberland.shtml
Other Maine counties: http://www.state.me.us/agriculture/co/tefap/countysearch.html - First
Baptist
Church Portland Food Pantry (Portland, ME)
360 Canco Rd, Portland, ME; Phone: 773-3123; Website: www.firstbaptistportland.org
Wednesdays from 1:00-2:00pm, at 360 Canco Rd, Porltand, ME
Serves all Portland residents, once a month limit up to 12 total visits, photo id required. - First
Congregational Church UCC Emergency Food Pantry (South
Portland, ME)
301 Cottage Road, South Portland, ME; Phone: 799-3361; Website: www.fccucc.org
Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:00pm, at 301 Cottage Rd, South Portland, ME;
Serving residents of South Portland and Cape Elizabeth; limit of one visit every 2 months.
Call church office in the morning & pick up food that afternoon (in Winter) or the next day (in Summer). - Front
Street
Community Pantry (Portland, ME)
34 West Presumpscot St, Portland, ME;
Fridays from 11:00-11:45am & Sundays from 10:00-10:45am
Serves all residents who meet Federal Poverty Guidelines, id & proof of income required. - Food
Center at the
Root Cellar (Portland, ME)
94 Washington Ave, Portland, ME; Phone: (207) 774-3197; Website: www.therootcellar.org
Every Friday from 11am-12:30pm, 94 Washington Ave, Portland, ME
Serves residents of Portland's Munjoy Hill & Kennedy Park areas only (more about eligibility) - Preble
Street Food
Pantry (Portland, ME)
252 Oxford St, Portland, ME; Phone: (207) 775-0026; Website: www.preblestreet.org
Every Thursday from 1:00pm - 2:30pm, at 252 Oxford St in Portland, ME.
Serves all residents of Portland, Maine. - Project
Feed,
Woodfords Congregational Church (Portland, ME)
202 Woodford St, Portland, ME; Phone: 761-3920; Website: http://www.woodfordschurch.org/
Tuesday-Friday 1:00-3:00pm, at 202 Woodford St in Portland, ME.
Provides up to 7 days worth of food & non-food items once every four months;
Serves residents of Portland, Falmouth, carborough, South Portland, & Westbrook; each visit requires a referral from a social service agency (such as PROP), school, church, or synagogue (call 761-3920 for referral form); referrals must be used within 5 days of receipt. For more information: http://www.woodfordschurch.org/default.asp?contentID=661&toplevel=590 - South
Portland Food
Cupboard (South Portland, ME)
Mailing address: 29 Aspen Ave, South Portland, ME 04106; Phone: 874-0379
Thursdays: 9:00am - 12:00pm, at 611 Main St, South Portland, ME
Serves residents of Cumberland County who meet 150% Federal Poverty Guidelines, application required, limit of one visit per month;
Soup Kitchens
- Preble Street - Breakfast
Location: 252 Oxford St, Portland, ME, Phone: 775-0026; Website: www.preblestreet.org
Breakfast hours: 8:00pm - 9:30am Mon through Fri; 8:00am - 9:00am Sat through Sun. - Preble Street Teen Center (Portland,
ME) - serves lunch
& dinner
Location: 343 Cumberland Avenue, in Portland, Maine
Hours: Lunch: Mon-Fri, 12pm-1pm; Dinner: Mon-Sun, 6pm-7pm
Serves youth ages 12 - 21; fom more information: http://preblestreet.org/youth.html - Wayside
Soup Kitchen (Portland, ME)
Physical Location: 252 Oxford Street in Portland, Maine
Mailing Address: 185 Lancaster St, Suite 204, Portland, ME 04101;
Phone: 775-4939; Website: http://www.waysidesoupkitchen.org/
Meals are served at 252 Oxford St, Porltand, ME; open to all residents;
Lunch hours: 12:00 - 12:50pm, Monday through Friday.
Dinner hours: 6:00 - 7:00pm every night of the year.
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Healthcare Resources
- Consumers for Affordable Healthcare
- Free
HelpLine: 1-800-965-7476 (toll free)
Finding Affordable Health Care Can be Difficult - We can help.
- This is a FREE service for everyone in Maine.
- We do not sell insurance. We provide information, assistance, & referrals regarding
health coverage.
- We are a non-profit organization, not a government office.
- All calls are confidential.
How can the HelpLine help you?
You might qualify for free or low-cost coverage. The HelpLine staff will talk through your options for accessing health coverage programs or services, whether you are calling for yourself, your family, your business, or your clients. The HelpLine staff can also answer questions about your rights regarding health care programs and insurance. And, they may be able to help you resolve disputes with state programs or insurance companies. We do not sell insurance. We provide information, assistance, and referrals regarding health coverage. We are a non-profit organization, not a government office. All calls are confidential. HelpLine: 1-800-965-7476 (toll free). - Online Healthcare Guide: www.mainecahc.org/guide.htm
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Housing Resources
- MaineHousingSearch.org
Maine's Free Rental Listing Service: Linking people who need housing with the housing they need.
www.mainehousingsearch.org
Subsidized & Public
Housing
- Maine
State Housing Authority
353 Water Street, Augusta, ME 04330
Phone: (800) 452-4668 or (207) 626-4600, Fax (207) 626-4678, TTY (800) 452-4603
Website: www.mainehousing.org - Portland
Housing Authority (Portland, ME)
14 Baxter Boulevard, Portland, ME 04101
Phone: (207) 773-4753, Fax: (207) 774-6471, TDD: (207)774-2570
Website: www.porthouse.org/index.html - Subsidized housing list for Maine
A regularly-updated list of subsidized apartments currently available in each county:
www.mainehousing.org/DATASubsudizedHousingListing.aspx
Published by Maine State Housing Authority - Housing
Choice Vouchers (Section 8)
Provides rental assistance to income eligible tenants by subsidizing a portion of their monthly rents and paying it directly to their landlords. MaineHousing offers this program in areas of Maine that are not served by local housing authorities. income limits | rent limits | more info
www.mainehousing.org/PROGRAMSHousingChoiceVouchers.aspx?ProgramID=50 - Rental
Assistance Coupons (RAC+)
The Rental Assistance Coupon Plus Program offers rental assistance to eligible people who have been homeless for seven or more consecutive days & are willing to participate in a self-sufficiency program. www.mainehousing.org/PROGRAMSRentalAssistanceCoupons.aspx?ProgramID=44 - Emergency
Shelter List
Provides information on the locations of emergency shelters throughout Maine. MaineHousing helps to support many of these shelters by providing funds for operating expenses and capital improvements.
www.mainehousing.org/HOMELESSShelters.aspx?ProgramID=57 - Home
Buyers Assistance Programs
MaineHousing provides low fixed rate mortgages and other assistance to help make homeownership affordable for more Maine people. No point, low point and extended payment term options are available. There are options with little or no down payment required, though if you still need help with the cash needed for closing, we also offer down payment and closing cost assistance. MaineHousing mortgages even come with payment protection for unemployment. And if you have a MaineHousing mortgage, you can be sure it will never be sold to anyone. www.mainehousing.org/HOMEBUYERPrograms.aspx?oProgramCategory=1 - Section
8 Housing - general information from the Technical
Assistance Collaborative:
The Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program (Section 8 HCVP) is one of the most successful federal housing programs funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The program assists low-income families, the elderly, and people with disabilities so that they may live in decent, safe, and sanitary housing in the community. Eligible participants receive a subsidy, which they can use in the private rental market, provided the unit meets the standards set by HUD. www.tacinc.org/HH/Program_Policy/Section8HCVP.htm
Section 8 Made Simple: A Guide To The Housing Choice Voucher Program, 2nd edition: offers comprehensive information on the Section 8 HCVP, including updated information on the Homeownership Program. Click here to access the entire document in PDF
Shelters
- Oxford
Street
Shelter (Portland, ME)
Location: 203 Oxford Street, Portland, ME; Phone: 761-2072
Hours: Mon-Sun, 7:45pm - 7:45am
Run by the City of Portland; Open to male residents only; - Preble
Street
Resource Center (Portland, ME)
Location: 18 Portland Street, Portland, ME
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1459, Portland, ME 04104
Phone: (207) 775-0026, Fax: (207) 842-3614
Website: www.preblestreet.org
Hours & locations for food pantry, soup kitchen, & day shelter: www.preblestreet.org/hours.html - Preble
Street's Day Shelter:
Location: 5 Portland Street in Portland, Maine
Hours: Summer: Mon-Fri: 8am-5pm | Winter (Nov-Apr): Mon-Fri: 8am-6pm; Sat-Sun: 8am-1pm - Preble
Street's Lighthouse Shelter
(teens only)
Location: 65 Elm Street in Portland, Maine; Phone: 774-3073
Hours: 7 days a week, 8:00pm-8:00am - Preble
Street's
Women's Shelter (women only)
Location: 5 Portland Street in Portland, Maine; Phone: 775-0026
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Legal Resources
- HelpMELaw:
Your Maine Legal Help Resource
Use HelpMELaw to find people who may be able to help you with a specific legal problem and/or information about laws that affect you. website: http://www.helpmelaw.org/ - Maine
Equal Justice Partners
126 Sewall Street, Augusta ME 04330
Phone: (207) 626-7058 or Toll free: (866) 626-7059, Fax (207) 621-8148, website: http://www.mejp.org/ - Pine
Tree Legal Assistance
Portland office, serving Cumberland, York, and Sagadahoc counties:
88 Federal Street, P.O. Box 547, Portland ME 04112
Phone: (207) 774-8211, website: http://www.ptla.org/index.html - Other Pine Tree
Legal Assistance offices:
website: http://www.ptla.org/ptlasite/cliented/contact.htm - Courthouse
Assistance &
Help Line
For help with divorce & parental rights court cases:
http://www.ptla.org/cliented/assist.htm | download a brochure [pdf file] - Volunteer
Lawyers Project
VLP, P.O. Box 547, Portland, ME 04112
Phone: 1-800-442-4293 or 774-4348
******
Legislative resources (Maine)
*A
work in progress: more coming soon!*
| MAINE STATE LEGISLATURE LINKS |
| Maine State Legislature's homepage homepage |
| Find a piece of legislation (bill) in Maine's State Legislature |
| Look up the status of a current piece of legislation (bill) |
| Find
your state Senator and Representative
by
zipcode Note: to use this resource, you need to know your NINE-DIGIT zipcode -- use this link to find out what your nine-digit zipcode is. |
| List of Maine State Senators |
| List of Maine State Representatives |
| Listen to LIVE AUDIO BROADCAST of
Maine State Senate (available when Senate is in session). Also available: LIVE VIDEO BROADCAST. |
| Listen to LIVE AUDIO BROADCAST of Maine House of Reps (available when House is in session). Also available: LIVE VIDEO BROADCAST. |
P.O.W.E.R. Materials
*A work in progress: more coming soon!*
A special comment about using POWER materials & resources...
NEW! -3/6/08
What Are Economic Human Rights?
--By POWER's Economic Human Rights Taskforce
Published in the February 2008 MAIN Update.
NEW! -3/6/08
The Presence of Justice: An Intro to Economic Human Rights [Word]
--By POWER's Economic Human Rights Taskforce
POWER's Economic Human Rights Slide Presentation [webpage]
Note: 1) this is a work in progress! & 2) this is the web-based version of a PowerPoint presentation. It may be a little buggy, & some of the slides may not be available or formatted correctly.
***Or download
POWER's Economic Human Rights (powerpoint) PRESENTATION [MS Powerpoint] - PLEASE BE AWARE: THIS IS A VERY, VERY LARGE FILE DOWNLOAD - about 7.73MB.
POWER's Economic Human Rights
& The New Movement to Abolish Poverty [Word format]
An educatoinal resource POWER members put together giving an overview of some key concerns related to organizing to end poverty. ***Please note that this is an ongoing work in progress that continues to grow and change as our knowledge and experience continues to grow and change (and as we're able to make time to continually update the presentation!).
POWER's "POVERTY ON TRIAL:
Testimonies of Maine People Speaking Out" [Word format]
***Please be aware: this is a very large file - about 5.58MB.
Includes testimonies from Maine's First Ever ECONOMIC HUMAN RIGHTS TRUTH COMMISSION, organized & presented by Portland Organizing to Win Economic Rights.
***PLEASE NOTE:
This
booklet is available in
print form for a suggested donation of
$5-20 (or more).
It took countless hours of donated volunteer labor to create this entirely self-published booklet. If you can afford to, PLEASE SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR POWER
BY PURCHASING YOUR PRINT COPY TODAY!
A special comment about using POWER materials & resources...
It took countless hours of donated volunteer labor to create this entirely self-published booklet. If you can afford to, PLEASE SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR POWER
BY PURCHASING YOUR PRINT COPY TODAY!
A special comment about using POWER materials & resources...
(
RESOURCES )
*A
work in progress: more coming soon!*
Links Contents:
| Links: International |
| Asociacion Madres de Plaza de Mayo
- Argentina -
"Mothers of the Disappeared"
|
| Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions |
| CRIPDES -
El Salvador ( en
espanol ) -The Association of Rural Communities for the Development of El Salvador |
| International Alliance of Inhabitants |
| Homeless Nation - Canada |
| Justicia Global - Dominican Republic ( en espanol ) |
| Movement of Landless Workers -
Brazil
(Movimento dos
Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra)
|
| U.S.-El Salvador Sister Cities |
| ( LINKS ) ( RESOURCES ) ( TOP ) |
Special Comments & Notes from POWER
Special Comment #1: A special note about POWER's Resource PageA note to our friends: we hope you'll please keep in mind that this is an on-going work in progress. We hope to add many more resources in the days and months ahead, and to get them all - you guessed it - better organized!!! Thanks for your patience and continued support! That said, in viewing & using these resources, we hope that you'll please keep in mind that:
- Like all pages on POWER's website, our Resource Page is a work in progress: it will be changing a lot over the coming weeks and months - especially as we develop better ways of organizing the information so that it is more useful.
- If
there are additional resources or links you'd like to see here, please
don't hesitate to
contact us & send us your suggestions! - Please keep in mind that while we eventually hope to have as much useful stuff posted here as possible, this page is not meant to be all-inclusive - nor could it ever be!
- Resources and links are listed with no regard to any kind of order or priority whatsoever;
- Resources and organizations are listed here solely for the purpose of providing resources for obtaining information - and they DO NOT indicate ANY kind of endorsement or affiliation whatsoever.
Special comment #2: A Special Note on Using POWER materials
A note to our friends:
- Spread the word! Please share POWER materials with others, and when you do, please tell them about POWER, our www.povertyontrial.org website, & the national Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign. We do ask that when you use POWER materials that you please give us credit for our work. We are always honored when others use, reference, & borrow from our work - that's why we put it out there! We just ask that you give us due credit.
- If possible, we appreciate it if you can contact us and let us know beforehand, in case we've made updates and/or corrections, etc.
- If possible, please contact us & let us know how you used our materials, and/or any response(s) you've received about them, etc. This helps us better evaluate our work.
- If
you are someone with the means to do so, please make
a contribution
to POWER in exchange for the use of POWER materials, especially if you
are using our work in or for other organizations and/or institutions. A
lot of really hard work has gone into making these materials, and as
with everything we do, none of us gets paid a DIME for it, and neither
does POWER. While we want to make these things available to ALL those
wishing to use it regardless of their ability to pay, we hope that
those who truly CAN pay will do the right thing & contribute
accordingly. how to make a contribution...
- Finally,
we ask you NOT to sell
POWER materials. The only exception is if you wish to sell POWER
materials to benefit POWER - in which case, please contact us before hand so we can
determine if and how this may be done appropriately.
THANK YOU!!!
For the record, as with many of the resources we post, this report is provided here as a resource for discussion and research - and is not meant to indicate any sort of approval or endorsement whatsoever. Furthermore, while much of the material in this report may indeed prove useful in terms of research, we'd like to point out our waryness with this report's title & stated strageties/solutions. We firmly believe that POVERTY CAN & MUST BE ABOLISHED - not reduced, managed, or cut; we are thoroughly dissatisfied by the notion of cutting poverty in half, over a 10 years time. Over the years we've heard these and similar solutions put forward time and again. While many will argue that the partial and/or gradual alleviation of poverty for some people is better than no alleviation of poverty for no people, we believe that - regardless of however well intentioned it may (or may not) be - this is false solution based on fundamentally flawed pretenses, because not unlike many other grave and systemic social injustices we as a people have had to rise up and overcome, we believe that poverty for any people is just plain wrong & the only just & true solution is to end it - period. And we will continue to challenge such false solutions that propose the alleviation of poverty for SOME, instead of the complete elimination of poverty for everybody. In the wealthiest nation in human history, we believe that it is unacceptable to leave ANYONE in poverty - not one man, woman, or child!!! Back to the report.
( TOP )
Portland
Organizing to Win Economic Rights = POWER!
Contact POWER
Winning our economic rights;
Putting poverty on trial;
Building a Maine that truly is the way life should be - for ALL of us!!!
Contact POWER
Winning our economic rights;
Putting poverty on trial;
Building a Maine that truly is the way life should be - for ALL of us!!!