Sen. Nangle introduces bill to keep Maine veterans housed

Legislation builds on successful partnership to ensure every Maine veteran has a place to call home.

AUGUSTA — On Tuesday, Jan. 21, Sen. Tim Nangle, D-Windham, introduced legislation to help Maine veterans stay in their homes and prevent homelessness. LD 2135, “An Act to Provide Funding to Keep Maine Veterans Housed,” was the subject of a public hearing before the Legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs

“When someone serves our country, the very least we can do is make sure they’re not worrying about where they’ll sleep at night,” said Sen. Nangle. “Housing is stability, it’s safety and it’s the foundation for everything else. This bill helps ensure Maine veterans can live with the dignity and security they’ve earned.”

LD 2135 would support the Veterans Flex Fund — an already successful program led by Preble Street and the Maine Homeless Veterans Action Committee, which includes the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Maine Bureau of Veterans Services, Volunteers of America, Vets Inc., Bread of Life Ministries and others. The program provides small but critical assistance to help veterans overcome barriers to stable housing, such as covering unexpected rental costs, offering incentives to landlords and conducting outreach to connect veterans with safe, affordable homes.

In his testimony at the public hearing, Dan Hodgkins of Preble Street emphasized that these efforts directly translate into housing for veterans, saying landlord incentives “allow case workers to quickly secure housing for homeless Veterans, as it separates them from other applicants in a competitive housing market.” He added that additional funding “would support landlord engagement for housing homeless Veterans, a critical piece of ending Veteran homelessness in Maine.”

David Patch, President of Maine Veterans in Need, stated: “As someone who has sat with veterans in their cars in the winter, walked through encampments in the woods and helped people navigate the system one step at a time, I can say this with confidence: Preble Street’s work saves lives, and this funding helps keep that work going.”

LD 2135 faces further action in committee.

Sen. Nangle is serving his second term in the Maine Senate, representing Casco, Frye Island, Raymond, Windham and part of Westbrook. He serves as Senate chair of the Transportation Committee and sits on the Health and Human Services Committee.

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