Homeless youth programs face budget cuts

BANGOR – Several agencies that aid homeless youths in Maine are losing funding in the face of state budget cuts, according to state officials.

More than $200,000 is being cut from programs in three regions of Maine as the state struggles to balance its budget.

Officials with the Department of Human Services announced Wednesday that the Shaw House in Bangor, along with similar agencies statewide, will lose funding for outreach programs for children ages 10 to 17.

Agencies in Bangor, Lewiston and Portland had requested a total of $450,000 for the 2002-03 fiscal year and were allotted $375,000. But state budgetary constraints have forced officials to reduce that amount, which is funneled through DHS, to $210,000, said Newell Auger, director of legislative and public affairs for DHS.

The programs had begun two years ago as pilot projects to gather information and determine ways to improve services for homeless youths. Bangor and Portland had taken part in the program the first two years, while Lewiston had expected to start a program this year.

The Shaw House has become dependent on the program’s funding and the changes it has created, Shaw House Executive Director Douglas Bouchard said Wednesday.

“We can’t go back to doing things the way we did before, not and sleep at night,” Bouchard said. “The program had ended, but we needed to save it and secured the funds to do so.”

While funding for the programs statewide is not expected to be eliminated, further cuts may be forthcoming. Existing funding also has been delayed, with money scheduled to arrive this month put off until January 2003, Auger said.

In Bangor, the Shaw House used the funds to create Rapid Response, a program that for the last two years has worked to aid homeless youths who have left or been kicked out of their natural homes for the first time, Bouchard said. It has served more than 100 youths since its inception.

Within the first two days of arriving at Shaw House, the youths get an evaluation from a case manager, Bouchard said. Arrangements then are made for those who should not return home to stay at the home of an aunt, uncle, grandparent, other member of their extended family or even the families of friends. An intervention team then is assembled to make sure the new family structure works and continues to do so.

During the past two years, Shaw House received $150,000 annually to operate the program, with the bulk of the funds going to providing treatment for chemical dependencies and counseling, Bouchard said. The rest of the funds were used to purchase items for the new family structure to support the youths, such as a bed if needed.

The new program allowed Shaw House to save money compared to what it would have cost the agency to house the youths itself, Bouchard said. At the same time, the wait for agency services decreased.

Rapid Response will be affected the most of any program under the new cuts, Bouchard said. Lewiston’s program has not yet started and will be delayed, while the funds for Portland are diluted throughout nearly 20 different agencies. Shaw House is the only program receiving the funds in the Bangor region.

“The program has completely changed the way we do business throughout our entire organization,” Bouchard said. “We’ve affected hundreds of kids.”

Youths tracked through Rapid Response were found to be less likely to join gangs, go to jail, use drugs, break the law or lose their jobs, Bouchard said. One piece of the study found that 75 percent of youths involved in Rapid Response for a half year stayed in school, while only 21 percent of those not in the program remained, Bouchard said.

“Hopefully, we’ll be able to secure money for them to continue through other means,” Auger said. “These are tough times.”