Salvation Army to close shelter in Portland for homeless teens

PORTLAND – Portland’s emergency teen shelter will close next month. The Salvation Army said demand for services has declined at the Lighthouse Shelter, which has operated since 1988.

“In the past several months, there have been several nights that no one has used shelter facilities,” Salvation Army Maj. Richard Munn said in a statement. “It is obvious that other community resources have emerged which effectively deal with needs in this area.”

The agency said use of the 16-bed shelter has declined from 12 youths per night on average at one point in 1998 to the one to three youths on average this year.

The drop in numbers can be traced to outreach by social service workers, said Jerry Cayer, director of Portland’s Department of Health and Human Services.

“The minute some new youth is on our streets, someone is picking up on it and making the appropriate referrals,” he said.

Still, he said the city needs to have an emergency shelter for teens. “As a community we need to make sure those beds are there,” he said.

Although the number of youths using the shelter has dropped, youths from 31 cities and towns in Maine have sought shelter there over the past years, Cayer said.

The shelter is one of the only places for homeless youths under 17 in Portland, according to Jon Bradley, assistant director of the Preble Street Resource Center.

“There are still plenty of kids who need the Lighthouse,” said Bradley, who faulted The Salvation Army for not notifying other social service providers. “I hate to have some success and then suddenly people get the impression we don’t need the resource.”