Help for Women & Children in Portland, Maine
Portland, the largest city in the state of Maine, is considered one of the 10 safest cities in the U.S. As the largest city, and thus the city with the highest population of need in the state, Portland has more shelters, public assistance programs and human services opportunities than other cities in the state.
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Emergency Shelters
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While many shelters provide emergency housing services to people in need, often these same shelters have liability limitations that prevent children from staying in the shelters with their mothers. Family shelters offer services for both parents and their children. In Portland, there is the Family Shelter, which provides general assistance to families, the Family Crisis Shelter, which provides services to families who have survivors of domestic abuse, and MAPS Shelter Services, which provides safe haven for pregnant and parenting women. There is also the Preble Street Shelter, which provides two houses in the same vicinity -- Florence House for women and the Lighthouse for children.
General Health and Dental Care
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Portland offers a free health and dental clinic for homeless mothers and children called the Health Care for the Homeless Center and located at 20 Portland Street. In addition, they also have a teen center. Mothers and their children can get healthy eating counseling and lead-poisoning-prevention education and assistance from the Healthy Portland community coalition (see Reference section).
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General Assistance
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For help with food, the WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) program is provided by the People's Regional Opportunity Program, or PROP (see Reference section). Women and children in this program can get peanut butter, milk, cheese, eggs, tuna, dried beans and vegetables. Children can also be enrolled through PROP in Head Start, a program designed to provide free child care and early childhood education. Lastly, mothers can contact the city's General Assistance office to see if they qualify for financial assistance from TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families).
Abuse and Violence Intervention and Support Services
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For mothers and their children who have experienced domestic or sexual violence, there are free support services available to them. For survivors of sexual assault, mothers and children can contact Sexual Assault Response Services of Southern Maine (SARSSM) for crisis intervention, resources and connections to appropriate resources. Survivors of domestic violence can contact Family Crisis Services for crisis intervention, information, resources, emergency shelter and support groups.
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References
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