Bangor reports encampment cleared; 96 people tracked, 28 placed into housing

Jenna Jones, a city staff member, told the Bangor City Council at its April 14 workshop that the encampment in the vicinity of Cleveland Street and Texas Avenue was cleared and that the last resident moved into housing on April 2.

Jones said staff and partner outreach teams tracked 96 individuals on a by-name list while managing the closure. "In total, we accounted for 96 individuals, within that space, who moved through our by name list," she said.

City staff reported the following outcomes for those 96 people: 28 were facilitated into housing (three of those later exited that housing for reasons staff said were not necessarily evictions), one was reunified with natural supports, one exited to sober living, several entered emergency shelters (including Hope House and other Bangor-area shelters), some left to formal temporary arrangements such as couch‑surfing, and 36 left under "unknown circumstances," a status staff said reflects people who self‑sorted and does not mean they were no longer experiencing homelessness. Jones also said "a number of individuals also exited to PCJ," the county jail, and that those people did not return to the encampment after leaving that facility.

Jones credited outreach workers, case managers and housing navigators for most of the placements and said the city emphasized "barrier‑breaking" practices during the closure. "We worked really hard to leverage, best practices, including, the 19 strategies that I know you have all heard so much about," she said, noting recognition by a regional advisor for Region 3 for the city's approach.

Councilors pressed staff on followup and broader coordination. City Manager Deb Lohrey said she did not have an updated open date for Teresa's Place but that the lease‑up process was still underway and that two individuals from the encampment had interviewed for units there that day. Jones said the city has formed an "inflow working group" with the HUB7 coordinator and partners that will include the library, emergency departments, the jail, police and fire to identify people who are not yet connected to the traditional services continuum and to try to route them to supports. Jones said the working group held its first meeting in February and plans to meet the first Monday of every month.

Councilors and staff also discussed downtown impacts as warming centers close for the season and noted outreach to the Downtown Mainland Partnership to learn business concerns. Jones said staff will continue to coordinate case conferences and will bring updates to the Government Operations committee (GovOps).

The update made clear that while the encampment itself has been closed, unsheltered homelessness remains a community issue and that staff see the closure as a step in a longer process of coordination, housing placements and outreach expansion.

Questions that councilors asked included whether the inflow working group is a formal committee (Jones said it is not formal today) and how many of the people tracked were from Bangor versus elsewhere (Jones said she would mine HMIS to provide a percentage).