Among those working on a solution to assist homeless people moving to Rumford are, from left, state Rep. Frances Head; state Rep. John Madigan; Town Manager Linda-Jean Briggs; Carlene Tremblay, state office representative for U.S. Sen. Susan Collins; Town Executive Secretary Margaret Collette; and Ben Tucker III, regional representative for U.S. Sen. Angus King. (Bruce Farrin/Rumford Falls Times)
RUMFORD — For about a year, homeless people from Portland have been assisted in relocating to Rumford, according to Town Manager Linda-Jean Briggs.
“Housing is not available for these homeless people in the general Portland area, and so they’re given the opportunity to relocate here,” she said.
Briggs said the problem facing Rumford is that those coming from Portland bring “a whole host of issues that require our resources,” including many “social issues.”
At a meeting Tuesday with town department heads, Briggs invited state legislators to discuss the relocation issue “because I don’t feel our concerns are being heard.”
“We’re reacting to these folks and their calls for service,” Briggs said. “Part of the reason we asked you here is that we don’t know where we can go at this point.”
State Rep. Frances Head of West Bethel asked, “What kind of numbers are we looking at?”
“It’s hard to say,” Briggs said. “I know of four. The only reason we know about them is because of the increase in the calls for service.”
She said she has left messages for Portland officials who have not returned her calls.
“It still seems like it’s tied in with the city, somehow,” state Rep. John Madigan of Rumford said. “I know the Portland homeless program is funded by their (general assistance) program.”
“But these people have got money,” Briggs said. “They’re not coming to us for general assistance, so far.”
Added police Cpl. Lawrence Winson: “A lot of these people come here and they have severe mental health issues. And they don’t have the assets and the resources locally that are established. They’re just kind of dropped here and they are lost.”
He said one person calls on a regular basis, daily almost, and it ties up an officer for sometimes 20 minutes to an hour.
“We’re doing nothing more than talking to her to get her to cope with what’s going on (and) to get her through her day,” Winson said.
“Some of these people are vulnerable due to their mental health issues and they’re not able to get the help that they need. They become victims of sexual assault. We’ve dealt with that twice in the last week.”
Briggs said the only contact with Portland city officials has been through Tax Collector/General Assistance Director Tom Bourret.
Bourret said he has only met with one of these people and it was not for general assistance, but it was to help her.
“The city of Portland is the representative/payee for this client,” he said. “She was placed in an apartment on a voucher and had some postdated checks in her possession that she was not able to cash because she had no photo identification and no bank account in the area to draw on those checks. Although she had money, she had no way to access those funds.”
Bourret said this woman needed help to get through basic tasks to provide for herself.
“The huge issue is that your resources are for the people of Rumford,” said Ben Tucker III, regional representative for U.S. Sen. Angus King.
“Adding these extra individuals, whether they take money out of general assistance or not, is still costing you money, and time and labor that you would like to have dedicated to the taxpayers.”
Bourret said he has heard indirectly that these people are being offered vouchers that might be good for housing within the Portland area, but it could be months before they are placed in temporary housing.
“However, if they decide to relocate, say, Lewiston or Rumford, then they could be housed much sooner,” he said.
Briggs said there are more than 100 vacant and abandoned buildings in Rumford, many being multi-unit structures.
Since Briggs was named town manager, the town has taken down seven buildings, with five more planned for demolition.
Madigan said more were taken down during his last tenure at town manager.
He said Rumford had housing for 10,000 people, but now the population is down to 5,800.
Head asked the group, “What would you like to see happen?”
While several said they would like to see the influx from Portland end, Head said that is unlikely.
“It’s an issue we all need to deal with, because it’s happening in lots of places,” she said.
Added Briggs: “Sure, it’s not just Rumford. They’re here now, so we have to help them. We’re obligated to do that at this point.”
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