#BangorME Area Homeless Shelter ends winter warming center
8/19/2025
by Brittany McHatten
BANGOR, Maine (WABI) - "It’s not even Labor Day yet, but an early-season cool spell has some Mainers planning ahead for colder months.
"That includes the Bangor Area Homeless Shelter which is moving forward with previously-announced plans to forgo its overnight warming center this winter.
"Shelter officials say they ran their overnight warming center for seven years. But, when they closed in March, they decided they wouldn’t reopen in the fall.
"That’s mainly due to the high cost of staffing, but the numbers weren’t making sense either.
"The shelter’s executive director says at one point there were 15 people in the warming center, but 11 of the 38 beds upstairs were open.
"With the planned addition of five mats on a temporary basis, they hope to help fill some of the gaps that will be left behind.
" 'One of the questions I was asked is: with us closed, will there still be enough room for people? There wasn’t enough room for people with us open, either. Seven or eight years ago when we started, we had about two-dozen people who were outside. That number now is probably 100 times, if not more than that, with people we have who are outside,' said Boyd Kronholm, executive director, Bangor Area Homeless Shelter. 'Although there is a need for this service, we’re just not able to provide it.'
"The plan is for those five additional beds to come open November 1st until the end of April.
"Bangor will have two remaining overnight warming centers. They’re located at the Brick Church on Union Street and The Mansion Church on Center Street."
Source:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/bangor-area-homeless-shelter-ends-winter-warming-center/ar-AA1KPt6C
#Unhoused #Maine #Homeless #Houseless #WarmingShelters #OvernightShelters #ArcticBlast #PolarVortex
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