Tedford Housing

Creating pathways from homelessness to home.

Tedford Housing Board of Directors Announces Retirement of Executive Director Craig Phillips

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A Message from Joyce McPhetres, President of the Tedford Housing Board of Directors

Joyce McPhetresIt is with a mix of sadness and appreciation that I am announcing the retirement of Craig Phillips from Tedford Housing effective December 31, 2019. This a planned transition for Craig and the organization.

Craig has been at the helm of Tedford Housing since 2011 when he was hired as interim executive director and then later announced as executive director in 2012. During Craig’s tenure, Tedford Housing has expanded its case management services to individuals and families who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless and strengthened its relationships within the community while growing the overall health of the organization.

With a skilled and dedicated staff and mission-driven board as our foundation, we are committed to finding the next leader for Tedford Housing who will continue the important work of responding to the needs of our community’s most vulnerable neighbors. A transition committee has been put into place, which will evolve into a selection committee. A formal job description and posting will be made public by midsummer.

We could not do the work we do to create pathways from homelessness to home without such strong community partnerships. Thank you, as always, for supporting Tedford Housing.

A Message from Craig Phillips, Executive Director of Tedford Housing

Craig PhillipsI am announcing my retirement as the executive director of Tedford Housing effective December 31, 2019. As I have said to a few, I now have a Medicare card and am ready to slow things down a bit. The board has established a transition team, which is embarking on the important task of bringing the next leader of Tedford Housing on board. I look forward to a planful transition process. I have thoroughly enjoyed and have been honored to hold this position, working with the entire community to advance the mission of Tedford Housing. Throughout all of this transition, Tedford Housing will continue its mission of creating pathways from homelessness to home by partnering with people and their communities in Midcoast Maine. As always, we appreciate your continued support as we move toward the future.

Brunswick Town Council to Hold Special Meeting on Shelters Monday, April 8th

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The Brunswick Town Council has scheduled a special meeting focused specifically on shelters for Monday, April 8, 2019 at 6:30pm. The public meeting 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.

The meeting and its agenda has not been posted to the town’s website as of the publishing of this article, but it is expected that it will include a public hearing and possibly voting on both ordinances for zoning and licensing for shelters. If the council gets to vote in this meeting, after the public hearing and discussion by the council regarding the proposed ordinances, the moratorium on building shelters in Brunswick will come to en end.

UPDATE: The meeting agenda and packet documents were published to the town’s website a few hours after this post was published. You can view these documents in the list of links at the bottom of this post.

 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 step you can take:

  • Attend this upcoming meeting on April 8th and any that follow, if necessary. Consider speaking about how valuable a resource Tedford is to the community. (You can find posted agendas from the town here or look for updates on our website here.)
  • 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:

  • 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 MaineHousing and other funding resources.
  • 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.

If you have any questions regarding Tedford Housing, this project or anything related to the zoning or licensing ordinance process, contact executive director Craig Phillips at 207-729-1161, #102 or craig@tedfordhousing.org.

FMI and some history, visit the following links:

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

Clarifying Tedford Housing’s proposed emergency housing program

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The following letter to the editor was written by Craig Phillips, executive director of Tedford Housing, and published in The Times Record on January 21, 2019.

I am writing in response to the Jan. 10 article in The Times Record, titled “Residents ‘overwhelmingly’ oppose new homeless shelter in their neighborhood.” After reading it, I would like to clarify Tedford Housing’s plan for a new facility and programming.

Tedford Housing’s current plan, subject to the final Brunswick zoning ordinance amendment process and other considerations, proposes to build one facility to serve both individuals and families.  The facility would replace our current emergency housing facilities, which would be sold or converted into other residential uses and no longer be run by Tedford Housing. The plan is not, and never has been, to construct a third facility. 

The plan proposes a new facility to serve a total of 28 adults and 12 families, modestly serving a portion of the 354 individuals and 228 families we were unable to serve this past fiscal year.  

Though a number of statements have been made recognizing the need to address homelessness in the area during this zoning process, I do not agree with the statement that “…the town is going to have many places in which it is going to be possible for people to develop facilities to address this need.” 

The end result of this process will be to provide Tedford Housing and other potential providers with conditionally permitted zoning districts in town on which to site a facility. Further, current zoning descriptions and density are anticipated to further limit potential zoning districts. 

Finally, Tedford Housing receives a great deal of support from Brunswick and adjoining communities. Though the zoning amendment process is about the ordinance and not a specific provider, Tedford has always sought to be, and is, a good neighbor. The proposed design for case management services linked with emergency housing beds provides this area with a proven model assisting people move from homelessness to home. 

This 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. 

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