I’m writing in response to the April 15 article about Tedfod Housing.  First, I appreciate your attention to local homelessness.  But I am writing to ask you to do better. 

In the article, Tedford’s predicament was summarized as, “struggling to keep up with demand for its space.”  Although the article goes on to enumerate the number of people turned away, the initial characterization reinforces the false notion that homelessness is a marginal problem on which Tedford and our community are trying to hold the line. 

The numerical reality is that demand is over 8 times greater than Tedford’s capacity, and has been for a long time. If Tedford’s proposed resource center opened today it could not even accommodate the number of children known to be homeless in Brunswick schools, let alone their families, or anyone else.  This is a large, local problem that is not being addressed. 

Tedford is doing what it can to expand capacity, with a goal of meeting one-fifth of demand.  What about the other four-fifths, the hundreds of homeless families each year that are not served? For God’s sake, what will happen when the next recession hits? Brunswick, and our region, desperately needs a comprehensive plan from elected leaders. In the meantime, the Times Record should make it clear to those who would resist such efforts just how much devastation they are ignoring. 

Andrew Lardie, 

Brunswick