Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) directed $2 million in federal taxpayer funding to a non-profit that seeks to address homelessness in Bangor by building tiny homes for homeless people.
[RELATED: A Warning for Maine: NYC Spent $81,700 Per Homeless Person Last Year…]
Sen. King’s office told the Bangor Daily News about the funding on Wednesday; it will go to the non-profit Dignity First.
“People are discovering that if you can get homeless people into housing, then you can start to solve other problems associated with homelessness,” King told the Bangor paper.
“I think the concept has been proven nationwide, and I felt it was important to get started in Bangor,” he added.
Dignity First President Anna Phillips told the Bangor paper that the organization applied for a larger, $4.6 million grant for 2023-2024 but did not receive the funding.
The smaller $2 million grant will require the nonprofit to modify their original plans, and Philips admitted to the paper that the organization does not know when construction might begin, how many units they will be able to construct, where they will be constructed, or how much each unit will cost to build.
The original plan would have included 20 homes initially and an eventual expansion to 60 tiny houses.
It is not clear from Dignity First’s website what if any vetting will be done on potential residents before they are allowed to live in one of the homes, or if there will be any residency requirements other than that a resident was homeless.
They identify a loss of “hope, family, and love” as the “most devastating causes of houselessness,” while failing to include details on factors such as mental health issues or drug use.
Their website supports their seemingly naive understanding of homelessness with a quote from the children’s book The Lorax by Dr. Seuss.
While Dignity First does not appear to have plans in place to address significant issues like drug use and criminal behaviour from homeless people, taxpayers can rest assured that the nonprofit will prioritize amplifying marganilized voices, equity, diversity, and allowing residents to “authentically be themselves.”
Their values are encapsulated in a helpful graphic on their website.
King justified the grant funding to the Bangor paper, claiming that putting homeless people in tiny houses is cheaper than keeping them in jail, apparently implying that the housing project would prevent criminality among its residents.
“Putting someone in a tiny home or apartment turns out to be seven times cheaper than keeping them in jail,” said King.
“This makes sense for taxpayers, addresses a problem that’s significant in the community, and makes lives better for people in pretty tough circumstances,” he added.
Dignity First’s project is modeled after a similar tiny homes for the homeless project in Austin, Texas, which both King and the non-profit identified as a success.
However, a report on the project admits that many residents have drug problems, the average age of death for its residents is just 59, and police have to respond to the community multiple times per day. The project offers mental health and addiction treatment, but participation is optional.
