As you may know, the Brunswick Town Council has held two workshops to review reports and recommendations from the Brunswick Planning Board and Shelter Task Force regarding the town’s zoning ordinance for shelters. (You can find information on the history of and our vision for the Tedford Housing Resource Center project here and updates regarding Town Council meetings here.)
On Monday, March 4 at 6:30 pm, the Brunswick Town Council will hold a public hearing on extending the moratorium on shelters.
Now is the time to share your thoughts with town council members regarding this ordinance process – which will reach one year’s time in March – and voice your support for Tedford Housing’s comprehensive and important approach to creating pathways from homelessness to home in our community. (Read more about our comprehensive approach to homelessness in Brunswick.)
As a Tedford Housing supporter, we are asking you to help advocate for our neighbors in need of Tedford’s services by attending upcoming meetings and workshops and consider speaking about how valuable a resource Tedford is to the community. As a Brunswick resident, you can also contact your town council representative directly (a list of members can be found here). You may also consider writing a letter to the editor of The Times Record (find guidelines here).
Keep your message personal and be sure to share why you support Tedford Housing. Here are a few talking points to help get you started:
- Tedford Housing’s vision will help reduce the high amount of individuals and families turned away every month, while also increasing efficiencies in delivering our essential programs and services. (Our FY2018 program and financial stats can be found here.)
- A comprehensive approach will result in the reduced risk of homelessness in the Brunswick area community, a faster return to housing stability for youth, adults and families, healthier households and increased self-sufficiency.
- It is important that Brunswick, as a regional center, includes districts that allow services to help our neighbors who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
- Any licensing standard must be reasonable and should not single out shelters. Tedford is an organization that has been in the community for over 30 years and is already held to a number of best practices and other accountabilities through Maine Housing and other funding resources.
If you have any questions regarding Tedford Housing, this project or anything related to the zoning ordinance process, contact me at 207-729-1161, #102 or craig@tedfordhousing.org.
Craig Phillips, Executive Director
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