Emergency Shelters and Other Resources For the Homeless in Augusta Maine

Jewel Opens Up About Being Homeless

Homelessness is Way Up

Homelessness is a growing problem, the numbers show it is way up. And shockingly the number of families with that problem are also way up. But why do they lose their homes? The reasons are many. The famous singer Jewel says she lost her job of 3 years and became homeless because she refused to have sex with her boss. She lived out of her car for a while until her car broke then she was on the streets.

The Housing Shortage Contributes Greatly to the Problem

Because of the housing shortage, landlords realize that they are in the drivers seat, and some of them will raise their tenants rent enormously. The tenants may be forced to vacate the apartment with no place to live lined up. They may have income, they may be employed, but once you are homeless you start going round in circles that are difficult to break out of and usually require help to get out of.

The Difficulty of Getting into an Apartment Once You Are Homeless

It is enormously expensive to get into an apartment. Because of the housing shortage, rents have soared all over. Landlords know they are in the drivers seat. One bedroom apartments going for well over a grand is common in the Augusta Maine area. Even worse, landlords are usually going to require a security deposit as well as the first months rent. It literally costs thousands to get into an apartment in central Maine, which is not an urban area, but is a small town.

Circles of Homelessness

If you get a job, does that cure your homelessness? Probably not since it costs so much to get into an apartment. You would be working and living in the homeless shelter or under the bridge.

And rooming houses cost quite a bit too! Which is a problem if you work in food service or retail because they keep their workers at less than 30 hours a week so they don’t have to give benefits like vacation pay.

And other problems of not having a place to live contribute to difficulties in finding work or keeping it. Things like the ability to take showers and transportation challenges will cause employers too hesitate to hire a currently homeless person.