Bangor will close Valley Avenue homeless encampment next week
The encampment of homeless people on Valley Avenue in Bangor will be closed at the end of the day April 11, and the 20 people who have been living there will be in housing, according to City Manager Debbie Laurie.
The milestone is the result of more than three months of coordinated work from more than 10 local and state agencies that were working together under the guidance of a federal disaster relief team. That group has worked to rapidly rehouse unsheltered people in larger metropolitan areas, including Seattle, Los Angeles and San Diego.
The team from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, called a “technical assistance team,” was called in by U.S. Sen. Susan Collins to help Bangor address its growing homelessness crisis. The HUD team first met with city officials on Dec. 15.
With the HUD team’s assistance and direction, 40-plus people representing more than 10 state and local agencies have combined and coordinated their efforts with the single goal of getting people who are experiencing homelessness into housing, Laurie said.
Since mid-December, this group has worked daily to build relationships and trust with each person in the Valley Avenue encampment and secure the documentation they need to gain housing, such as identifications and housing vouchers, case management and medical assessments.
With those needs met, the team is finding housing that meets each person’s individual needs and situations. Their focus has been to help people gain permanent housing, but some people may be entering shelters or transitional housing, such as a boarding house.
One person had been moved into permanent housing and another returned to a former job that’s close to family who will provide housing, according to Laurie.
As they move into housing, people who had been living in the wooded area are given yellow duct tape to mark the items they don’t want and the city can take away, Laurie said.
The focus of this first phase was directed at the people living in the encampment on Valley Avenue, but once everyone there has been housed and the area cleaned up, the group will turn its attention to others who need housing help. This could include other encampments, such as the one behind the Hope House, or people who are living in shelters or in their vehicles or are couch surfing.
Outreach workers who have been working with people living on Valley Avenue have informed them of the closure and will continue to remind them throughout the week, Laurie said.
This story will be updated.