Bangor’s Camp Hope Homeless Encampment To Close In December

Bangor City Officials have announced that the homeless encampment commonly known as 'Camp Hope' will close in December.

The Name of Camp Hope Came From Its Proximity to the Hope House

The name Camp Hope was born out of the fact that the encampment is adjacent to the Hope House Shelter in Bangor, although it is not directly affiliated with the shelter. But anyone who visits the community will find little hope there. Trash piles form borders to a small village of tents, tarps, and broken furniture. In addition, people who live in the encampment instead of seeking a shelter bed often don't have the same access to resources and services that are available to shelter dwellers.

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Bangor City Councilors Cited Many Reasons for the Encampment's Closure

On October 10th, the Bangor City Council delivered a letter to the mayor, announcing the encampment will be closed by December 31st, 2024. A variety of reasons were given for the decision:

• The prevalence of injectable drug use and the discarding of those used, uncapped needles, which exposes residents and providers within the space to communicable diseases.
• The proximity of the encampment to the UMaine at Augusta campus, a daycare facility, and healthcare offices causes concern for the safety of others.
• Bangor Police were called to the area over 500 times in the first nine months of 2024. Over 30 of those calls posed a serious threat to a person's well-being, including calls related to sex offender activity, weapons, overdoses, and assaults.
• An unwillingness on the part of residents to interact with police and report violent crimes has resulted in most crimes going unreported.
• An increase in illegal drug use and sales within the encampment, which endangers not only encampment residents but also the well-being of workers providing information about resources and services.

According to the City Council's release, there are about 73 people known to be living in the encampment, at present. Of those people, 22 are regularly engaged with outreach services, 31 who are at least partially engaged with outreach services, and 20 how are not engaged at all. 'Engagement' means that the individuals are consistently making their appointments for things like housing applications.

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Every Attempt Will Be Made to Obtain Housing for the Residents of Camp Hope

City officials say they will do all they can to ensure that housing is located for as many residents as possible before the encampment is shut down. A shortage of affordable housing will make that challenging, but officials say 41 units of 'permanent supportive housing' are expected to open before the end of the year.