MaineHousing awards $2 million in state grants to prevent student homelessness

AUGUSTA - MaineHousing has awarded $2 million in state funding to five different Maine school systems for pilot programs that are aimed at preventing student homelessness.

These grants were made possible with a one-time source of funding supported by Governor Janet Mills and the Maine Legislature. Funding was awarded in collaboration with the Maine Department of Education and could help as many as 1,700 students and their families avoid homelessness.

School systems in rural Aroostook County, Bath, Biddeford, Lewiston and Portland were each awarded funding to hire homeless prevention and housing navigation specialists, as well as to provide direct financial assistance to a student's family to cover expenses that will help them either maintain their current housing or obtain new housing.

"This assistance was designed to be flexible to best meet the needs of the family needing help," said Lauren Bustard, MaineHousing's Senior Director of Homeless Initiatives.

At the direction of the Maine Legislature, which approved the funding for this pilot program, MaineHousing worked with the Maine Department of Education to establish the criteria for these grants, which are aimed at determining best practices for preventing student homelessness in Maine through trial initiatives.

In all, 11 school systems submitted more than $4.9 million in requests for the $2 million of available funding through a competitive selection process that sought to ensure equitable distribution to districts in both city and rural school systems.

"MaineHousing is grateful it was able to award funds to the school systems as they look to reduce and prevent homelessness among their students," said MaineHousing Director Dan Brennan. "Unfortunately, demand for these valuable state resources far outstripped the available funds, and as with all pilot programs, we look forward to learning all we can - in this case, to better prevent homelessness for students in the future."

Below is a breakdown of the school systems that have been awarded funding, the funding amounts and the estimated number of students they expect to serve with the resources being made available to them.