PORTLAND, Maine — Portland and Westbrook residents are going to get an opportunity to weigh in on a proposal for a new homeless shelter.
A public hearing is scheduled for Tuesday for plans for the $10 million, 200-bed center near the Barron Center campus. It would replace the Oxford Street Shelter in downtown Portland.
Nearby residents fear the center would bring violence and drug use to their neighborhoods.
Problems in the neighborhood surrounding the Oxford Street Shelter are widely documented. The Oxford Street Shelter director said it’s wrong to think all homeless people are addicts or criminals.
If the proposal is ultimately approved, downtown Portland would be without a homeless shelter for the first time in 30 years.
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