Housing the Unhoused and Asylum Seekers

Kevin Bunker, Principal of Developers Collaborative; Greg Payne, Senior Advisor on Housing Policy at the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future; and Danielle West, City Manager in Portland, sat down with MEREDA President Craig Young for a MEREDA Morning Menu event on February 1st entitled ‘Housing the Unhoused and Asylum Seekers.’

The thought-provoking discussion was recorded and rebroadcast for the fifteenth episode of MEREDA Matters – the podcast that puts you in the room with the people who are driving responsible development in Maine. The aim of the group’s discussion was to enable a deeper understanding of the complexities around providing housing and social services for those who are unhoused and seeking asylum.

Bunker begins by describing the new homeless shelter in Portland as well as the new asylum seeker shelter in Portland that his firm, Developers Collaborative, built with Cianbro. Payne goes on to describe the State’s focus on adding housing supply as well as addressing some of the zoning laws that constrict affordable housing development. He also discusses how the ‘Housing First’ approach, combined with on-site support services, is effective for getting people off the streets and is part of a long-term effort to scale housing opportunities statewide. West provides insight into how Portland has been addressing the issue, from addressing the encampments to providing beds for the large influx of asylum seekers.

The group goes on to discuss how collaboration has been a key feature of the success stories, and that real estate can play a big role in solving the problem. Listen to the episode to learn more about this important issue!