You're Invited to the Annual Hike for the Homeless!
The Hike for the Homeless raises awareness of homelessness in our Bangor community and raises funds for the Bangor Area Homeless Shelter.
As a non-profit, donations like yours made up 53% of our operating costs last fiscal year. The shelter was able to return 90% of overall support back to our life-changing programs. With your support, Bangor Area Homeless Shelter will continue to change the lives of our most vulnerable community members, but we need your help. Click Here to join us for the Hike.
How Can We Help you?
Emergency Housing: Please call us at (207) 947-0092 if you want to stay in our shelter. Beds cannot be saved over the phone. Beds are given out on a first-come, first-served basis. You must be over 18 to be in our shelter. People staying in our shelter must be clean and sober from drugs at least 24 hours before coming to the shelter. This means no drugs, medical marijuana, or alcohol. The shelter has 38 beds all year long. In the winter, we have 5 extra emergency beds for people in our Warming Center. How long someone can stay is different for each person. We look at each situation one at a time.
Our Diversion Program: In special cases, our Diversion Coordinator, Maria Horodeski, works with people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. She helps find solutions so people may be able to stay in their home, find housing quickly, or move to a place where they have a safe place to live. The goal is to help people avoid becoming homeless or needing to stay in an emergency shelter. Please call (207) 947-0092 and ask to speak with theDiversion Coordinator.
Day Program: Our doors are open every day from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm for any sober adult who would like to come into our day room. Guests may use the phone and bathroom, get information about resources in the Bangor area, and ask for clothing or personal items they may need. Guests can also come in to warm up in the winter or cool off in the summer. Guests may also have the chance to meet with different organizations that work with the shelter.
Free Lunch Every Day: We serve hot lunch inside our shelter every day. Any adults sober in the community are welcome. Please arrive at 11:45 AM.
Food Pantry: Anyone in the community is welcome to come to our Food Pantry. It's open Sundays and Tuesdays from 1pm to 4pm. People may only use our pantry once a month.
Need Help with housing? The Maine Sate Housing Authority helps people with mortgage programs, fuel assistance, eviction prevention program, and rental programs. Click the link to contact them Maine Housing -Maine State Housing Authority
Click Here to find help and other resources in our area
Cedar Street Apartments: There are 6 long-term efficiency rental apartments on the top floor of our building for people who experience barriers in getting housing.
Partnership with Fresh Start Sober Living: In 2023, we partnered with Fresh Start Sober Living to bring an additional recovery house to the community. We purchased a home in Bangor and lease it to Fresh Start. It houses 10 to 12 men who were previously experiencing homelessness or at risk of experiencing homelessness to provide them a safe, stable environment to call home and maintain their sobriety.
We do business in accordance with the federal law of the Fair Housing Act.
The Fair Housing Act protects people from discrimination when they are renting or buying a home, getting a mortgage, seeking housing assistance, or engaging in other housing-related activities. It is federally illegal to discriminate against any person seeking housing assistance based on their race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status , or disability. The Bangor Area Homeless Shelter does not discrimination based on race, color, religion, pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity, national origin, disability, or mental health diagnosis. Anyone who feels they have been discriminated against may file a complaint of housing discrimination 1-800-669-9777
The Bangor Area Homeless Shelter collects personal information directly from people entering our shelter t that may be required by law or by organizations that provide funding for our operations and services. The Maine Sate Housing Authority requires our shelter to share people's personal information in the Maine Homeless Management Information System (HMIS). Other information that we collect is important to run our program, meet the needs of our guests, to improve our services for homeless persons, and to better understand the needs of homeless persons. We collect only information that is required for these purposes. People using our emergency shelter program have the right to access your personal information by request of the Program Manager.
Our Mission: The Bangor Area Homeless Shelter is a dry shelter whose mission is to support and strengthen the community by providing emergency shelter and supportive services to people who are homeless or at risk and to advocate for collaborative, locally driven solutions to end homelessness.
Our Vision: To have achieved our goal where all guests at the Shelter are transitioned into suitable, stable, housing in 30 days or less.