Mills’ plan to limit emergency shelter faces pushback

(The Center Square) — Gov. Janet Mills’ push to limit stays in taxpayer-funded emergency shelters is meeting with resistance from municipal leaders and homeless advocates who say it will force families into the streets.

In a $94 million supplemental budget, Mills calls for setting a three-month per year limit on housing assistance to reduce spending on the General Assistance program, which has ballooned since the pandemic.

The Mills administration says the changes are needed to restore the program’s original intent of providing time-limited emergency housing. Costs for the program have risen threefold since the pandemic to $43 million in fiscal 2023, partly because the state relied on hotels as emergency shelters. State leaders are also trying to whittle down a projected $450 million revenue shortfall for the next biennial budget.

But the plan is facing pushback from some city leaders who say it will force Mainers who rely on the program to pay rent and avoid eviction into homelessness, further increasing costs for the state and local governments.

“Cutting off support for those relying on short term GA for rent would jeopardize our ability to serve Mainers who have nowhere else to turn and will push people into homelessness at a time when we continue to face housing shortages, escalating costs of rent, food and other necessities, and rising building costs,” Portland Mayor Mark Dion, a Democrat, said in testimony opposing the plan.

Meanwhile, immigrant rights groups argue the limits would force families with legal status who are waiting for federal work authorization into the streets. Ruben Torres, advocacy manager at the Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition, said newly arriving immigrants are prevented from legally earning income for at least six months after requesting asylum, with processing delays of up to a year or more.

“The proposed three month cap with the families with no means to pay rent during this critical [time], forcing them into impossible situations,” Torres said in testimony opposing the measure.

The limits are supported by the conservative Maine Policy Institute, which argues that the move would reduce reliance on public assistance and encourage people to find permanent housing, easing the state’s financial burden.

“These reforms are a logical step toward reducing reliance on public assistance and encouraging individuals to seek other housing solutions,” Harris Van Pate, the center’s policy analyst, said in written testimony in support of the proposed three-month limit. “Public assistance programs should be structured to help individuals transition to self-sufficiency rather than fostering long-term dependency.”

Welfare benefits are expected to be a sticking point in upcoming budget negotiations, with Republicans pledging to oppose higher taxes and push for changes in public welfare programs.