PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - The mayor of Portland, Maine met with homeless protesters who have been camped outside City Hall for a week demanding the immediate improvement of services.
Mayor Kate Snyder listened to the testimonies of people at the encampment, many of whom are teenagers and have been homeless for years, for two hours on Wednesday, The Portland Press Herald reported.
“Our homeless youth are scared they will be out here for 40 years because they are not getting the help they need,” Cody Taylor, 19, told the mayor and several other city officials.
Snyder choked up at the end of the conversation when asked about which of the people’s stories had affected her, the newspaper reported.
Portland’s City Hall closed for business on Monday because staff said they felt unsafe, the newspaper reported. City officials say the closure results in a loss of income for the city.
The protesters, many of whom have been homeless for years, are demanding an immediate eviction freeze, the legalization of outdoor camping, the creation of overdose prevention sites, more affordable housing, and reinvesting funds from the police budget into social services.
Organizers with Maine People’s Housing Coalition, which is supporting the protest, told the newspaper more than 50 people were staying overnight at the encampment and some 200 were coming by during the day for food and medical treatment.
The homeless protesters are also asking the city to provide bathroom and shower facilities for people without shelter. A local nonprofit, the Preble Street Resource Center, used to provide those services along with food, but it has closed access to its facility during the pandemic.
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