Tedford Housing, which runs the Midcoast’s only homeless shelter in Brunswick, has a new leader.

The organization on Wednesday named Andrew Lardie as interim executive director. Lardie, of Brunswick, previously served as president of Tedford’s Board of Directors. He was the associate director of the McKeen Center for the Common Good at Bowdoin College from 2013-2021 and more recently served as the community outreach and extended-learning opportunity coordinator at the Brunswick School Department.

Andrew Lardie. Courtesy of Tedford Housing

“Andrew is a passionate champion for Tedford’s mission, and in his professional life has spent the past 10 years building local community connections to advance equity and make Brunswick a healthier place to live,” incoming board President Toni Kemmerle said in a statement.

Lardie, 42, grew up in Detroit, Michigan.

“The issues of poverty are personal to me,” Lardie said. “My family had a lot of instability growing up and part of that was economic and housing insecurity. I remember my mom on the phone trying to keep the utilities on, and the shame when we relied on our church for food and clothes.

“It has taken a lot of luck for me to end up where I am today, and now I see the same things happening here in Brunswick. This community has too much wealth for so many people to never get a shot at a healthy life.”

Lardie said Maine is experiencing a homelessness crisis. He pointed to a survey this month that found Maine’s homeless population doubled to 4,411 from 2019-2022.

He said Tedford for the last few years has denied 85%-90% of people seeking shelter because there’s no room.

“That’s unacceptable,” he said. “We can’t allow that to continue.”

Lardie’s first mission is to raise money for Tedford’s new shelter on Thomas Point Road. Currently, Tedford operates a 16-bed adult shelter in a 100-year-old building and a six-family shelter in Brunswick. The new shelter will have 24 adult beds and 40 family beds. The organization has raised about half of the money needed for the $8.3 million project, which could break ground later this year.

“We have to get it done,” Lardie said. “We have to do better by our neighbors.”

He said he was in Augusta Tuesday lobbying lawmakers for funding and has been approaching corporations, foundations and individuals. Tedford has already secured $1.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds for the new shelter.

“We are doing a full-court press,” he said. “Getting this project to the finish line is very important to me. … We’re the only game in town when it comes to combating homelessness.”

Lardie replaces Rota Knott, who left to become executive director of the Acadia Family Center.