Tedford Housing

Creating pathways from homelessness to home.

What’s Next for the Tedford Housing Resource Center

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The strength of the people of this region who understand and empathize with the lived experience of homelessness is very powerful. The staff and board of Tedford Housing are very grateful for the support it has received from the community as the Town of Brunswick wound its way through a zoning ordinance process for shelters and Tedford Housing advocated for reasonable outcomes. After a little over one year, the moratorium on building shelters in Brunswick has ended. A zoning ordinance is in the books, as is a licensing process for shelters, which is somewhat unique for Maine municipalities.

So what’s next? For now, Tedford Housing is assessing where we are and where we want to go in the short term in regards to building a new facility. We do know that increasing numbers of adults and families experiencing homelessness exceeds our capacity, and we are committed to leading a community response that addresses this gap. We will continue to work with our partners on identifying possible sites for the full vision of a resource center. Throughout this process, in addition to discussing the technical aspects of zoning, we hope we have at least increased the knowledge within the whole community of the nature and extent of homelessness in Brunswick and the surrounding area.

Tedford Housing officials catching their breath before restarting planning for new Brunswick facilities (Times Record, April 15, 2019)

Brunswick Town Council approves zoning rules for homeless shelters (The Forecaster,  April 10, 2019)

An Update on the Moratorium on Shelters in Brunswick and What’s Coming Next

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On Monday, March 4th, the Brunswick Town Council held a public hearing on extending the current moratorium on building shelters. After several community members voiced their concerns with the time it has taken for the town to make a decision on a zoning ordinance for shelters, most in full support of Tedford Housing, a vote was not taken. The vote on extending the moratorium is now expected to occur on March 18th when all council members will be present. Following are the meeting documents posted on the town’s website today:

It is our understanding that the next step in this process, once a vote to extend the moratorium is complete, is for the town council to review a comprehensive list of possible performance standards that would go into effect for shelters along with the zoning ordinance. The council will review each standard and vote to keep or reject each standard, line by line. Both the zoning ordinance and the performance standards will need to be voted on, with public hearings, in order to be finalized.

There was an excellent turnout of Tedford Housing supporters at this last meeting. We hope to see more of this as we keep moving forward in this long process. If you are looking for ways in which to show your support for Tedford’s comprehensive and important approach to creating pathways from homelessness to home in our community, here are a few actions steps you can take:

  • Attend upcoming meetings and workshops and consider speaking about how valuable a resource Tedford is to the community. The Brunswick Town Council meets on the first and third Monday at 6:30pm. (You can find posted agendas from the town here or look for updates on our website here. We are guessing there may be 3 – 5 more meetings before a zoning ordinance and any performance standard is finalized.)
  • If you are a Brunswick resident, you can contact your town council representative directly (a list of members can be found here).
  • Write a letter to the editor of The Times Record (find guidelines here)

Here are a few talking points to consider:

  • 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 performance 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 executive director Craig Phillips at 207-729-1161, #102 or craig@tedfordhousing.org.

A Letter to Tedford’s Supporters

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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

Brunswick Town Council Schedules Public Hearing on Possible Extension of Moratorium on Homeless Shelter Development for March 4, 2019

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The Brunswick Town Council has scheduled a public hearing regarding whether or not to extend the moratorium on homeless shelter development for Monday, March 4, 2019 at 6:30pm. The public hearing will be held in the council chambers in the town hall located at 85 Union Street in Brunswick. As usual, these meetings are open to the public and available for viewing on Brunswick Cable TV3.

This public hearing is an opportunity for those with an interest in this development to attend and ensure their voice is heard regarding the possibility of an extended moratorium.

There are no specific agendas or packets posted on the town’s website for the public hearing at this time. See links below for related information.

FMI, visit the following links:

Giving Voice: What does a comprehensive approach to homelessness look like?

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The following article was published in The Times Record on 2/8/19 and written by Jennifer Iacovelli, Tedford Housing’s director of development.

Tedford Housing changed its name from Tedford Shelter back in 2006 in recognition of the organization’s evolution to include permanent supportive housing and related homeless prevention services. While community members still refer to us as Tedford Shelter, we take a much more comprehensive approach to homelessness than just providing beds for overnight guests (the original intent of the organization).

But what does a comprehensive approach to homelessness mean? What does it look like for an organization like Tedford Housing in the community of Brunswick, Maine?

First and foremost it is having strategies for working with the full range of people who experience homelessness. One size does not fit all when it comes to those in need of Tedford Housing’s services, which includes emergency shelter, homeless prevention, emergency heating assistance and permanent housing for previously homeless individuals and families.

Our last Giving Voice article addressed our highest priority population we now serve, the long term stayers. The long term stayers include those who have the highest barriers to finding and maintaining permanent housing and who have been in our emergency shelters the longest. Addressing the high needs of this population not only frees up beds for other people who are experiencing homelessness, but it also reduces emergency room visits, police interventions and other uses of public services.

A big piece of the puzzle in providing pathways from homelessness to home, as our mission states, is case management. Case management is at the core of all the services Tedford Housing provides. All clients are exposed to some level of case management in order to understand the causes of homelessness, to develop a housing stability plan specific to their situation and to access resources for achieving permanent and stable housing for the long term.                             

Case managers, also called housing or stability navigators, are the biggest advocates for all of Tedford Housing’s clients. They work hard to stay up to date on the ever-changing availability of and requirements for housing subsidies. They work closely with landlords and make sure their clients know exactly what resources are available to them and how to access them. They meet regularly with shelter guests to review paperwork and the steps they need to take to find housing. They help families and individuals come up with a plan to address the issues that prevent them from maintaining housing or put them at risk for losing their housing. They connect guests, tenants and clients to key resources in the community to get the services they need.

Though many people may think of Tedford Housing as helping “the homeless,” the truth is that we help individuals and families to reduce their risk of becoming homeless. The majority of Tedford Housing’s clients are only homeless for a short period of time, if they become homeless at all. Once a housing navigator helps someone attain housing, they “follow” the individual or family for up to a year with stability services in order to ensure they have everything they need to maintain housing. People need income to sustain housing. Our navigators connect clients to resources in the community like that of Workforce Solutions that offer up pathways to job training and employment. The ongoing support that case management provides dramatically reduces the risk of returning to homelessness.

Tedford Housing has a limited supply of permanent supportive housing options in Brunswick, Bath, Augusta, Lewiston and Auburn that have provided long term, stable housing to many with histories of significant barriers to stable housing. Many of our tenants have remained housed for years and are now paying market rental rates. We have enough successes under our belt to know the strategies that work and that some strategies don’t work for all clients.

Tedford Housing prides itself on being up to date on the best practices when it comes to addressing the complex issues involved with homelessness. Our key strategy remains a housing first approach – focusing on permanent housing placement in as short a time as possible coupled with case management to access community resources that can ease the transition into a life not complicated by the ongoing emergency of homelessness.

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PO Box 958, Brunswick ME 04011