50 South Portland households got rental assistance after ICE enforcement
More than 50 South Portland families benefitted from the city’s subsidized rental assistance program through Project Home, a Portland-based nonprofit.
The City Council allocated up to $100,000 to Project Home in March to provide rental assistance to residents impacted by immigration enforcement actions following the surge in January.
Related
South Portland will donate $100,000 to Project Home
About 20 of the households served reported being impacted by a detainment, often of the sole breadwinner, according to Lucas Schrage, director of housing initiatives with Project Home. The other 30 households were sheltering in place because they were afraid of being detained. Many faced loss of employment and relied on aid groups for support, Schrage said.
“This program offered them dignity and the chance to survive together, undivided,” Schrage said.
The average program participant received $1,855 in rental assistance or $553 for rental arrears, or overdue rent, exhausting the city’s fund before the program cut off in June.
Many members of the community were struggling to pay rent and were potentially facing eviction in the wake of the surge of immigration enforcement at the end of January. Between Jan. 20 and 24, agents arrested 206 people in Maine, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Even after the surge, some residents were afraid to leave their homes, affecting attendance in school and work as well as their household income.
Schrage said that the nonprofit still receives requests for assistance, and he anticipates that there will be more requests after an ICE agent shot and killed 25-year-old Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Biddeford on July 13.
At this time, Project Home is not requesting more funds from South Portland for a similar partnership.
Copy the Story Link
Tagged: Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Dana Richie is a community reporter covering South Portland and Cape Elizabeth. Originally from Atlanta, she fell in love with the landscape and quirks of coastal New England while completing her undergraduate. More by Dana Richie
