The city’s Oxford Street shelter currently serves about 100 people during the daytime and the fire department is determining what a safe daytime capacity should be, he said. “People will still have safety and security at the Oxford Street Shelter,” she said.Ĭity Manager Jon Jennings said the move by Preble Street will likely lead to increased numbers of people seeking day shelter at Oxford Street, as well as the Portland Public Library and other downtown areas. To address financial issues, Yellen said an administrative decision was made to scale back its day shelter hours because the nearby city-owned Oxford Street Shelter expanded its hours last fall from overnight only to 24 hours a day. In 2016, the Resource Center, which includes the day shelter and others services such as caseworkers and food pantry, had a budget of $1.43 million - about $30,000 more than the previous year, according to the most recent tax documents available online. Over the years, it became known simply as Preble Street and it expanded into a $13 million nonprofit providing services such as shelters, soup kitchens and housing programs in Portland and throughout the state. The Preble Street Resource Center was started back in 1970s as an experiment by a college professor and his social work students, bringing low-barrier social services to Portland as a way to build trust and relationships with people who can use help getting basic needs. “If we get wet or damp, we’re going to be stuck out here for a good two or three hours” until the soup kitchen opens. “What are we going to do when it rains or gets cold?” she said. She sat in the courtyard Thursday with all of her belongings - a small box of food she got from the Preble Street pantry, two small bags of clothes and a small bag for other loose items. “You’re not as likely to get in trouble here as you are someplace else.”Ī 52-year-old woman who would only give her first name, Donna, said she was worried, especially with the cold weather coming.
The 48-year-old, who plays guitar downtown for tips, has been in and out of jail, but the day shelter is the one place he can rely on. Kenneth “Kenny Wayne” Beek said he’s been coming to the day shelter for three years. The news was concerning to a half dozen people who regularly use the day shelter and were asked about the change Thursday. “At this point we have to look at what we can do most effectively and efficiently with limited dollars,” she said. The new hours will save the nonprofit $100,000 a year in per diem staff, she said. The decision to scale back the hours was made in response to rising costs and a steady decline in public funding, Yellen said.
to meet with clients, and Preble Street will have its soup kitchen open for three meals, seven days a week. Case managers and outreach workers will still be on site until 4 p.m. 30, it will close at noon Monday through Friday, and it will not open at all weekends, said Donna Yellen, Preble Street’s deputy director. to noon on Saturdays, according to the nonprofit’s website. The day shelter, or resource room, is currently open from 8 a.m. serves between 300 to 400 people a day, giving them a place to warm up on a cold day, make a phone call, take a shower, do a few loads of laundry, charge their phones or get basic necessities, such as clothing and toiletries. Preble Street provides a variety of services aimed at meeting the basic needs of Portland’s homeless and low-income residents.
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