These two apartment buildings on Mousam Street, owned by an affiliate of the former York County Shelter Programs, would be torn down to make way for “Home for Good” housing project. Photo: Lee Burnett
By Lee Burnett
The Sanford Housing Authority is seeking permission to tear down two buildings on Mousam Street and build a 30-unit home for chronically unhoused people.
The proposed housing has been in development for more than two years and is said to be the ultimate answer to stabilizing the lives of people whose daily struggles have become an increasingly disruptive presence in city parks and on trails. Eligible residents would receive permanent housing, round-the-clock staffing and on-site availability of clinical services. They would not have to be clean of drugs when they enter, but would be required to sign a lease and pay one-third of their income toward rent.
Housing advocates say the combination of housing security, ready assistance and accountability in a single program represents the most ambitious effort to address what has been, to date, a visible, intractable problem.
“It will be a huge relief to not have 30 people living outside,” said Diane Small, executive director of the Sanford Housing Authority. “Anyone you see in parks or squatting in the woods … they’ll be offered housing.” The city’s unhoused population is estimated to be 50 or more.
The prospect of permanent housing was news to many of folks who gathered Wednesday for a meal at St. George Episcopal Church served by It Takes a Village 207. Those who were interviewed said they like the sound of the project, although some wondered if it would come to pass.
“I’d go there,” said Kevin Royer, who said he’s been unhoused for 10 years. Then, nodding to his pregnant companion Justice Sivonen, he said “Do they take babies?” He said his mental health issues have made it difficult to hold jobs for more than a short time. He said he’s been on a housing waiting list for five years. In the meantime, the two of them have been living in Royer’s car. “But I’d rather have a home, for once.”
“I’d love a place,” said David Robert Tovey, who said he’s been homeless for 20 years. “I live in a tent winter, spring, summer.” Even if it’s built, Tovey said he doubts he would be accepted into the program. He said he’s had difficulty obtaining food stamps and other assistance. “I don’t do drugs. I smoke cigarettes and marijuana and I drink.”
“I don’t think you can make it happen for me, but I do appreciate your attention,” he said.
Tovey’s skepticism underscores a reality for Sanford’s unhoused population. Initiatives started on their behalf have been on-again, off-again. The Police Department started a mental health unit devoted to them in 2019, but within a few years, the unit’s attention was increasingly drawn to enforcing Maine’s yellow flag law for confiscating weapons from dangerous people. A warming shelter opened in the winter of 2023-2024, but funding was unavailable for subsequent years. At one time, homeless people were encouraged to camp in a single large encampment on Heritage Drive, but when that became squalid, it was shut down in June 2024. A needle exchange program went from liberal to stingy.
The project would be located in a tight neighborhood behind the Sanford Post Office and not far from Central Park. Two Mousam Street neighbors whose homes face the site said they’re keeping an open mind.
Krystle Smith of 12 Mousam St. said she was initially “not happy” to hear about the project but upon hearing details said she is willing to give the housing authority a chance to execute its plan. “I hope that’s what happens,” she said. “It’s better than sleeping on the sidewalk, which they do.”
Stephen McLeod of 8 Mousam St. said he’d like to see an expectation of personal responsibility. “It depends on how well they patrol the place. When I see people getting freebies and aren’t expected to contribute to their well-being, I don’t like that.” But then, he added, “everyone deserves a chance.”
Small pushed back on any suggestion that the “low-barrier” policy of accepting residents still in the grips of drug use means residents would not be held accountable.
“People say it’s a wet shelter. It’s not. It’s permanent housing. They have a lease, they pay rent,” she said, indicating residents could be evicted for drug use. “It’s the same lease as Sunset Towers, East Side Acres or Village View. You’re not allowed to do drugs. It’s illegal.”
Small said housing authority staff have already interviewed prospective residents and scored their eligibility according to a “coordinated entry assessment.” Top candidates will have lived on the streets for a year or more or have experienced three or more mental health or drug-induced episodes.
The project is one of eight “Home for Good” projects funded by the Mills administration and the Maine Legislature. An injection of $32 million over a two-year period funds the creation of 230 units of housing. The program is modeled after three housing projects pioneered in Portland by Avesta Housing and Preble Street, the first of which was built in 2005, according to Greg Payne, housing policy advisor in the Office of Policy Innovation and Future.
“This model has been incredibly successful in stabilizing their lives,” Payne said. He said former Portland Police Chief Michael Sauschuck, now Maine Commissioner of Public Safety, was a vocal skeptic of the program when it was launched, but he soon saw how drastically it reduced the incidence of disorder crimes. Some people who had been arrested “dozens and dozens of times” had so transformed their lives “he could no longer recognize them,” Payne said.
The “secret sauce” that makes the program work is the round-the-clock staffing by social workers. They help residents find employment, apply for disability or Social Security payments, learn daily living skills and access counseling for substance use disorder or mental health issues. “So, if you have a mental health episode at 2 am, it doesn’t result in eviction,” Payne said. The model is funded through separate streams of revenue for construction (federal low-income tax credit), housing support (federal housing voucher program) and services. “The big reason it hasn’t scaled up … is the lack of services funding.” He said the Mills administration and Maine Legislature finally solved that through a hike in the real estate transfer tax.
The program may cost more than other forms of supported housing, but advocates believe it
saves money in the long term in less police involvement, fewer visits to emergency rooms, and other burdens on public services. That assertion will be put to the test by Maine Health Institute for Research, which plans to collect data on outcomes.
The Sanford Housing Authority has already secured $440,000 in pandemic relief funding for property acquisition and predevelopment costs. A closing conference is set for Oct. 1 on the property that is currently owned by an affiliate of the former York County Shelter Programs, according to Small. Construction funding through Maine Housing is contingent on the Sanford City Council awarding Tax Increment Financing, according to City Manager Steve Buck. In the meantime, the building plans are due to be presented to the Site Plan Review Committee on Aug. 4 and, if the application is complete, to the Planning Board as early as Aug. 19. If all goes according to plan, construction could start next year.
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