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Rachel L. Ortiz is a Bangor educator, published writer, caregiver, and community advocate.
Like many Bangor residents, I have watched our city change over the past several years. The increase in homelessness, public drug use, panhandling, encampments, and visible mental health crises has become impossible to ignore. Residents are concerned. Business owners are concerned. Families are concerned.
Unfortunately, the public conversation often becomes polarized. One side argues for greater enforcement. The other argues for greater compassion. I believe Bangor needs both.
I recognize that many of the individuals we see struggling on our streets are facing challenges most of us cannot fully understand. Addiction, mental illness, trauma, disability, and housing shortages are real issues. But leaving people on the streets indefinitely is not compassion, and it is not a solution.
At the same time, residents should not be expected to accept a future where public drug use, aggressive panhandling, encampments, and deteriorating public spaces become the new normal. Bangor deserves safe parks, clean sidewalks, thriving businesses, and public spaces that are welcoming to families, students, seniors, and visitors.
The question is not whether we care about people who are struggling. The question is whether our current approach is helping anyone.
What concerns me most is that Bangor appears to be stuck in a cycle of crisis management. We respond to emergencies, clean up encampments, transport people to hospitals, conduct welfare checks, and address public complaints, only to repeat the process again.
Homelessness is not free.
Bangor is already paying for homelessness every day through police calls, ambulance transports, emergency room visits, park maintenance, sanitation efforts, encampment cleanup, and the economic impacts felt by local businesses. The question is not whether we spend money. The question is whether we continue paying for crisis management or invest in a system that moves people toward housing, treatment, employment, and long-term stability.
Other communities across the country have found success by creating comprehensive approaches that combine housing, mental health services, addiction recovery resources, case management, and employment opportunities. Rather than relying solely on emergency shelters, these communities focus on helping individuals transition toward permanent housing and self-sufficiency.
I believe Bangor should further explore a similar model.
Imagine a transitional housing and recovery community that provides temporary housing, supportive services, job training, and pathways to permanent housing. Residents could receive assistance navigating housing programs, mental health treatment, recovery services, and employment opportunities while living in a structured environment designed to promote stability and independence.
Such a facility could also partner with local organizations, healthcare providers, businesses, and volunteers. Programs such as thrift stores, community gardens, bottle redemption initiatives, and workforce development opportunities could help residents build skills while contributing positively to the community.
Compassion and accountability are not opposing values. In fact, the most successful solutions require both. Individuals who are willing to engage with housing and support services should be given every opportunity to succeed. At the same time, residents have every right to expect that public spaces remain safe, clean, and accessible.
Bangor has always been a resilient community that comes together to solve difficult problems. I believe we have reached a point where we need to stop debating whether the problem exists and start discussing what a long-term solution could look like.
We can continue paying for homelessness through endless crisis response, or we can begin investing in pathways that help people rebuild their lives while restoring public confidence in our city.
Bangor deserves a solution that accomplishes both.