“The homeless have you ever been there / Out all night in the frosty air”

Liz Starr’s original lyrics welcomed Bath community members to a discussion on homelessness at the The Neighborhood United Church of Christ on Centre Street. The conversation was the first of three to be hosted by The Neighborhood as it looks for new ways to understand and address homelessness in the community.

Pastor Bill Bliss opened up the conversation with some thoughts on what it means to have a home and to be without one, and reminded participants of the limits of the conversation.

“Let’s not pretend we’re going to solve homelessness tonight,” said Bliss. “I’ve been in enough of these conversations to know that leaping to solutions can be a stumbling block.”

Sagadahoc Sheriff Joel Merry recalled one encounter a while ago with a homeless individual, a young person in their 20s living on cardboard boxes in the woods in Bath.

“I remember loading him up in my cruiser,” said Merry. “I took him over (to a shelter in Brunswick) and they had no room. Now what am I going to do?”

They ended up driving back to Bath, and Merry made arrangements for him to check into the police station, but the lack of available options was concerning.

Jen Rosa, one of the other panelists, had recently experienced homelessness and testified to that lack of resources. Rosa had a job and was willing to work, but after losing her housing situation, she found it all but impossible to get back into housing. She had no family support, couldn’t qualify for government benefits, and couldn’t get help from nonprofits like Sweetser or the Red Cross.

“I work 50-60 hours a week. It doesn’t matter,” said Rosa. “We just can’t get ahead.”

Getting that first month’s rent and security deposit is a difficult proposition even with that income, she said.

“We’ve seen a 26-percent increase in the rental prices in this region in 18 months,” said Bath Housing Authority Executive Director Deb Keller.

A typical two-bedroom apartment in Bath would likely go for $1,200 a month, she said, hardly affordable for many families.

“The wages that people are earning here are not compatible with the housing crisis,” said Keller. “So you can be working 50 or 60 hours a week and you still can’t afford the housing that’s out there. That’s it in a nutshell.”

Section 8 vouchers can help low-income individuals afford housing, noted Keller, but Bath has only 134 vouchers and the waiting list is about four years. That’s one of the best programs, she said, but there’s simply not enough.

Merry added that the lack of adequate services for those dealing with mental health issues was a large contributor to the number of homeless individuals. Too often, he said, homeless individuals with mental health issues end up on the wrong side of the law out of desperation. When that happens, it’s the criminal justice system that winds up dealing with mental health issues, and the homeless individuals end up in jail.

“That’s not where people should be staying, in jail,” said Merry. “What (jails) have become is de facto treatment centers, mental health hospitals and a catchall for so many other things.

“We can’t be the call of last resort,” he added, “but so often we are.”

Moreover, Merry said, time in prison can cut off needed federal benefits.

The conversation will continue on Feb. 21 at The Neighborhood.

nstrout@timesrecord.com