The Colby Echo

Issue date: 3/4/09 Section: Local News

Media Credit: file photo

"I'm not a drug addict who chose to live on the streets. I was an abused woman who got thrown on the streets. I had no where to go so I called the shelter," Katrina Ramos wrote in a letter thanking the staff of the Mid-Maine Homeless Shelter. Dignity is the word that Ramos' carefully articulate and neatly handwritten letter most brings to mind.

The note not only emphasized her gratitude for the help she received, but highlighted the care and kindness the Mid-Maine staff put into their work. "I was so devastated I contemplated on taking my life but staff made me feel like I should go on living and now I have my own apartment and it is due to all the hard work the staff invests in everyone and for that I'm truly grateful," Ramos wrote.

On the morning that the Echo visited, there was nothing dreary about the crowded office of the Mid-Maine Homeless Shelter, despite the early hour frigid weather that comes with winter in Maine. Volunteers and employees walked in and out with cheerful but tired smiles, exchanging greetings and worried consultations about their work.
Despite the enticing smell of pancakes, the hardships of the current economic situation could not be more real for the families and individuals staying at the shelter.

"We want to make this place feel warm, comfortable and safe," Mike Marston, Executive Director of the Mid-Maine Homeless Shelter said. In accordance with this philosophy, Marston calls the people who come to stay at the shelter guests.

According to Marston, the shelter has seen a recent rise in need. "We are having more calls: more families and individuals are homeless," Marston said. "People are working hard, but they are getting laid off or having their hours cut back. It is a constant struggle, and we are struggling to help them out."

Although it's closed during the day, the shelter provides breakfast and dinner as well as information on where to access a free lunch or stay warm during the day. The shelter provides both dorm-style housing for individuals, and more private rooms for families with children.

The rooms for families, while sparsley decorated, offer some privacy for parents and their children. Neatly made bunk beds rest next to a single bed, and guests are able to leave belongings in the room during the day. On the day the Echo visited the shelter, there were two garbage bags filled with neatly folded clothes resting next to one single bed. There are currently seven families staying in the shelter as guests.

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