Thread: Asylum seekers in Sanford forced to leave hotels as housing vouchers run out

Asylum seekers in Sanford forced to leave hotels as housing vouchers run out




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Gillian Graham, Portland Press Herald, Maine
Tue, June 13, 2023 at 11:59 PM EDT



Jun. 13—Asylum seekers who have been staying at a hotel in Sanford have to move out by the end of the week as their emergency housing vouchers run out, city officials say.

More than 100 asylum seekers arrived in Sanford over a few days in early May to request support through General Assistance, quickly overwhelming the city's resources. City officials placed 28 families in hotel rooms and warned others not to come because there were no more rooms available.

Those asylum seekers were first-time General Assistance applicants and qualified for 30 days of emergency housing, City Manager Steven Buck said Tuesday. Most were placed at the Sanford Inn, and a few stayed at the Quality Inn or elsewhere in the community. But hotels are now booking tourists for the summer and regular monthly housing vouchers don't go far to cover the higher cost of available rooms.

"In other words, a family of five has a monthly housing allowance of $1,064 assigned to them. If they use that in a hotel situation, that would get them anywhere from five to eight nights of housing and then they're out, they have no more funding," Buck told the City Council last week.

Manu Patel, owner and manager of the Sanford Inn, said about 30 of the hotel's 40 rooms have been rented to asylum seekers since last month, but they started to leave Monday. He expects all of them to move out by the end of the week, depending on when they had checked in.

"They have no idea where they are going," he said. "They're trying to get in a shelter right now."

So far, housing navigators from York County Community Action Corp. have found long-term housing for 15 of the 28 asylum-seeking families, though some will not move in until July 1.

The nonprofit agency provides a range of housing, health, assistance and transportation services.

"We're pleased with the number so far, but we have more work to do," said Heather Harris, director of communications for York County Community Action.
She declined to discuss details about where the families would be staying, citing privacy concerns.

It is not clear where those families or others who have not found new shelter will go in the meantime. Some are being assisted by local churches and other community groups.

Efforts in the community to set up a temporary shelter in the Sanford area have so far been unsuccessful, Buck said, and the city does not have funding available to open a shelter.

Housing navigators from York County Community Action work with people who are experiencing unstable housing or are homeless — not just asylum seekers — by reaching out to a network of landlords, housing authorities and other resources to find options. But that work is not easy.

"The housing situation in Sanford is no different than anywhere else," Harris said. "It's a challenge for everybody."

Some of the asylum seekers came from Portland, where an emergency shelter at the Expo Center set aside for asylum-seeking families had been full since April. There are more than 300 people staying at the Expo shelter, which will close in mid-August.

Both Portland and Sanford now tell new families they can get help through General Assistance if they find housing on their own, but cannot guarantee them a place to stay.

Two new families of asylum seekers arrived in Sanford on Monday and were told they won't be issued a housing voucher until they find a hotel room or other housing, Buck said.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/asylum-se...035900807.html

No heads on beds, put their butts on busses back over the border!