Several people were less than pleased about something I posted yesterday on Facebook regarding Biddeford mayoral candidate Susan Deschambault.
Several of Deschambault’s supporters questioned my take-away observations of Monday’s mayoral debate, in which I wrote that candidate Susan Deschambault tripped over herself and made a big “gaffe.”
Some folks speculated that I was supporting the other candidate (Martin Grohman) and just looking for a gotcha moment. They accused me of “taking things out of context” and playing “loose with the facts.”
Well, I have some bad news for Deschambault and her supporters: The video record of that debate paints a rather unflattering picture, much worse than anything I posted on my Facebook page.
Former State Sen. Susan Deschambault (Facebook photo)
To those of you who demanded Deschambault’s “exact” words about the closure of the Maine Energy Recovery Company’s solid waste incinerator (MERC), here they are:
“I served under Joanne Twomey, and I served under General Nutting. I could mention to you that General Nutting and the council at that time bought MERC. How did they buy that? “
“We put out a referendum, we will buy it for 10 million dollars. You guys were smart, you said no. We went back to the drawing board, by that time we got MERC all upset, and they wanted to leave, we knew that. We brought it down to six million dollars and you, the taxpayer, paid for that. You wanted that and look what happened. Magic.”
Let’s examine the facts:
1.) Mayor Wallace Nutting and his council did NOT buy MERC. That facility was still operating many years later, long after Nutting left office. In fact, MERC was still there during Mayor Twomey’s two terms in office.
2.) There was only one municipal referendum, which was rejected by a margin of 2-1 by the city’s voters. There was never a second referendum.
3.) Magic??? Are you kidding me?? MERC’s closure took a Herculean effort by many individuals. It was most certainly not “magic.”
4.) The city finally found a way to end the nightmare in the summer of 2012, during Mayor Alan Casavant’s first term in office, The ensuing development was not instantaneous, and it took solid leadership and a new positive and professional approach from City Hall.
The transcript of this debate shows that both candidates were not really well-prepared for some rather softball questions, but if you watch the video, you will see Deschambault had a hard time staying on topic.
I grew up in a working-class family during the early 1970s. Actually, we were probably only one half-step above the poverty line, but both my parents worked very hard to give my sister and me a blissful and happy childhood with all the trappings of middle class America.
Despite the popularity of the rebellious, love-the-one-your-with attitudes of the “hippie” movement at that time, our parents instilled upon us some universal traditions. To be polite. To be respectful. To show decorum.
These days, it feels like those values are rapidly diminishing in the rear-view mirror of nostalgia. Today, it is apparently much more important to be comfortable, no matter how you define your own comfort level. The emphasis now is to feel good rather than to do good.
When we were growing up, we had three sets of clothes: our school clothes, our play clothes and our “Sunday best” clothes. Despite financial strains, my parents always ensured that my sister and I had new school clothes each year.
Senator John Fetterman. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Newsweek.
But it was a cardinal rule in our home that required us to change into our play clothes after school, before we went outside to play with our friends. When you’re pinching pennies, you want your clothes to last. And looking good at school was important.
Our Sunday clothes were just that. The more formal attire when attending church, a family function or a rare dinner at a restaurant. My sister would wear a dress. I had pleated slacks, a button-down shirt and a matching jacket. We both wore polished shoes. We made an effort to put our best foot forward.
But in today’s world such compliance of proper attire and respect are rapidly vanishing. Whether it’s in the workplace, our public schools and now — even in the U.S. Senate — being “comfortable” is the new standard. The new goal. It’s all about our feelings and unique needs. Dressing up to show respect is becoming somewhat passe’.
Although members of Congress today seem intent on hurtling toward a possible government shutdown in a hyper-partisan atmosphere, one Democrat senator is causing quite a stir with his fashion ensemble.
Senator John Fetterman, a newly elected representative from Pennsylvania, reportedly prefers wearing baggy shorts and a “hoodie” on the Senate floor and in the halls and offices of Congress. This week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer quietly threw out the Senate dress code rules. Now there is no dress code for the U.S. Senate.
Obviously, because both Fetterman and Schumer are Democrats, Republican lawmakers are literally flipping out about “a lack of decorum and a lack of respect.”
In fact, Maine’s own Senator Susan Collins has threatened to wear a bikini on the Senate floor. Please, Senator Collins, please don’t do that. Just the imagery alone hurts my brain.
Fetterman, who earlier this year was hospitalized for six weeks because of severe depression, has told journalists and others that he can work just as effectively wearing a hoodie instead of a jacket and tie. He’s probably right. But here’s the kicker: Fetterman is not just some guy roaming around the Capitol building.
He is a United States Senator. How he conducts himself in public is a reflection of America, not his own wardrobe choice. He is a member of one of the most powerful assemblies on the planet. He shouldn’t dress for that job like he’s about to go shopping at Walmart.
Republicans, however, show absolutely no bounds of hypocrisy in their battle cry for decorum and respect in Congress.
For example, earlier this year, U.S. Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) committed her own extreme fashion faux pas during the annual State of the Union. Dressed like a coked-out stripper from northern New Jersey, Greene acted like an emotionally-unstable eight-year-old, screaming almost uncontrollably at the President of the United States while he was delivering an address to Congress and the American people.
Republicans were silent about that horrid display of petulance run amok. So, I guess bad behavior is okay as long as you dress up? Really?
If my sister or I had ever acted like that in public, I guarantee our asses would be blistered for weeks. It seems to me that both Democrat and Republican lawmakers could learn a lot from my parents about respect, civility and decorum.
A LONG STRANGE TRIP | My first inpatient hospitalization happened in 1982, when I was 18 years old but my struggle with depression, bipolar symptoms and schizoaffective disorder began long before then.
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Jesus, it has now been more than 40 years, but it seems like just yesterday. This the story about the day I was discharged from my second, involuntary psychiatric hospitalization at Maine Medical Center in Portland.
August 10, 1983: | It’s a date I will never forget and a date that has shaped my life more than any other since my birth.
It was a Wednesday and it was hot. Hot and incredibly humid. Dog Day Afternoon hot.
I was 19 years old and about to experience something I could not previously imagine..
I was also an in-patient on the psychiatric unit of the Maine Medical Center in Portland. Less than 24 hours earlier my mother visited me and explained that I could not come home once I was discharged. My behavior, she explained, was unacceptable. My illness was manifesting itself in fits of uncontrolled rage, belligerent behavior and sheer arrogance.
This was my second hospitalization in less than one year. I was floundering and out of control. I remember being angry during that meeting with my mother, my doctor and a social worker. But my anger was much more about fear than anything else.
Where would I go? How would I survive?
I did not have a job. I had only the clothes on my back and 55 cents in my pocket. I not only know it was exactly 55 cents, I also know that it was one quarter and three dimes. I awoke the next morning and stared out the window of my hospital room. From the sixth floor, it looked as if the city of Portland was snarling at me, ready to swallow me whole.
________________
You may find yourself in another part of the world.
I was discharged at about 11 a.m. and began my walk down Congress Street, past the fire department, the statue of Longfellow and the porno theaters that have since disappeared.
By the time I hit the intersection of Oak Street, I was drenched in sweat. I stopped at the McDonald’s restaurant and asked to speak with the manager.
I was told the manager was busy. They were gearing up for a lunch rush. I asked when I could come back just before a man tapped me on the shoulder. “What do you need?” he asked.
I will never forget that man. His name was George Lydick. He lived in Falmouth, and he owned three McDonald’s restaurants in the area. He invited me to sit down and grabbed an employment application.
I can’t remember if I filled out the application. I do remember that he gave me a Big Mac and a chocolate shake. He asked if I could start immediately because he needed a third-shift utility worker, a janitor who would clean the bathrooms, change the oil in the fryolators, empty the garbage, break down and sanitize the shake machine and mop the floors.
He was willing to take a gamble on me, but only when the restaurant was closed and there were no customers around. I had told him that I was just discharged from P-6, after all.
I had a job. I would earn $4.25 an hour, and George agreed to comp me two meals a day until I got my first paycheck. I shook his hand. Thanked him profusely and left in search of place to live.
Roughly 30 minutes later, I found myself with dozens of other people in the basement level of Portland City Hall. My name was called, and I met with a caseworker. I showed her my discharge papers and told her I just got a job at McDonald’s but had no place to live. The shame of being there was crushing.
The city, she explained, had limited resources, but if I could find an apartment that would take city vouchers, they could pay my rent until I got my first paycheck. They could not, however, help with any security deposits. She also gave me $17 worth of emergency food stamps and sent me on my way, looking for an apartment with a list of potential places and an eligibility form that the landlord would have to complete.
____________________
You may find yourself living in a shotgun shack
With my housing voucher firmly in hand, I was able to strike pay-dirt on my first try, the emphasis on dirt.
The apartment was a one-room efficiency on the fourth floor of a building that smelled of cat urine and featured peeling paint, torn carpeting in the hallways and lots of loud music. The rent was $50 a week. It included all utilities.
The room was tiny and had two windows, both of which could not be opened because of the swelling wood and lack of maintenance. The view featured the brick wall of an adjacent building. There was a stained mattress, a two-burner cook top and a micro fridge.
It was 2:30 p.m. I had been on my own for a little more than three hours. I had a job and a place to live.
I was terrified and would begin my new job in less than eight hours.
Despite my accomplishments, I did make a very big mistake that day. I decided to use the toilet in my new apartment. It did not occur to me until it was much too late that I did not have toilet paper, a shower curtain, soap or even a towel.
My theory is if that ever happens to you, it only happens once. In the 40 years since, I’ve never had less than 28 rolls of toilet paper in my home at any given time.
I struck pay-dirt on my first try, the emphasis on dirt.
I remember being stunned that I had to actually pay for things like towels, salt, soap and toilet paper. Those things should be free, I reasoned.
Welcome to being an adult.
My mother and a friend of hers visited me three days later. They brought with them several bags of groceries: cans of tuna fish and soup, fresh vegetables, peanut butter, bread and cereal.
__________________
You may find yourself with a beautiful wife and a beautiful house
Flash forward 40 years later. I am sitting at my desk this morning, finishing up some work and thinking about where I might have lunch. Maybe I’ll take a drive to the beach instead of updating my blog. I am overlooking my gardens, and I am impressed with my lawn and its lack of brown spots. All my windows can be opened, and we have three air conditioners and stainless-steel appliances in our kitchen.
I am looking forward to our next camping trip in a couple of weeks. We will be towing our 22-foot camper to the shores of Moosehead Lake. That 2020 camper is much nicer than that efficiency apartment on Oak Street could ever hope to be.
My, God. . . how did I get here?
I say all this because the taxpayers (you) made an investment in me. Four decades ago, you gave me $117 in rent and groceries. For the next two years, you subsidized my medications and loaned me money to go to college.
Was it a wise investment? I like to think so, especially when I look at how much I pay in taxes; the money I donate to charity and the lessons I try to pass on to my two stepsons.
Yes, I have stumbled many times since. I have been hospitalized for psychiatric care (both voluntary and involuntary) more than 20 times. The last time was in 2018, and I began regular ECT (Electro-Convulsive Therapy) treatments. Over the last 40 years, there have been lots of mistakes, many lessons learned.
Sure, it doesn’t always work out this way. And who knows, maybe I will crash and burn tomorrow, but sometimes the investment in those who are living on the edges of society works out nicely.
As I previously stated on Facebook, there are four topics that I now avoid discussing on any social media platforms: Abortion, Climate Change, Guns and LGBTQ+ issues.
The way I see it, it has become virtually impossible to discuss or debate any of these issues without the conversation dissolving into an abyss of bruised egos, hurt feelings and misunderstanding. I am NOT an expert on any of these issues. My opinion carries no more weight than your opinion.
Although I have staked out my positions, I am more than happy to discuss or debate any of the following topics with you in an off-line setting, preferably while drinking some craft beers or delicious coffee. I am always willing to hear alternative viewpoints — always ready to consider new information and perspectives, and ready to change my mind or outlook. Enjoy.
ABORTION:
Personally, I am opposed to abortions in almost all cases except when the mother’s life is in danger. That said, I also believe that I do NOT have the right to tell a woman what to do with her body. Thus, I am somewhat reluctantly pro-choice on this issue.
That said, I think it’s hypocrisy that we have the technology to detect bacteria on Mars and declare it’s a sign of life; and then say that an embryo or especially a fetus is not a living organism. It begins growing and developing from the moment of conception. That’s just science.
CLIMATE CHANGE:
I’ve written this before, and my position has changed very little over the past few years. First, Climate Change is real. Very real. The evidence is all around us and it is impacting, and will continue to impact, human life.
What bugs me about this subject is mostly centered upon the alarmist attitude of otherwise very intelligent people; and the sheer hypocrisy of those who often chant the loudest and want to impact my choices.
I am a huge supporter of renewable energy, including wind, solar and hydro projects. But that does not mean that all renewable energy projects are good. Some projects have an adverse impact on the surrounding environment, but for the most part I like renewable energy because it requires zero assistance from any other nation. It is truly independent energy. In some cases, I also support nuclear power and natural gas projects. [Disclosure: I have worked as a paid consultant on several renewable energy projects in New England]
I believe in being a good steward of our natural resources. I try to minimize my energy consumption. But the alarmists want to make my choices for me, that and the ever-growing bureaucracy of government regulation chaps my ass.
Furthermore, this issue is too often mired in fear and rhetoric, often ignoring science.
This ecosystem (Earth) is 4.53 BILLION years old. Think about that for a minute. We’re making declarations and pushing the panic button while ignoring the simple fact that we have basically NO idea about climate trends BEFORE humans began roaming the planet approximately 500,000 years ago.
Translation? Humans have been on earth for less than .01 percent of the earth’s life. Furthermore, we know (because science tells us) that this ecosystem has undergone numerous, significant and sometimes cataclysmic changes, sometimes wiping out various species, often referred to as “natural selection.” We’ve had Ice Ages, continental and seismic shifts, not to mention eons of volcanic activity that created huge dust plumes and particulate distribution all over the globe.
Bottom line? Our climate has been changing for a very, very, very long time and it will continue to change with or without us. I mean, really. Do you think you can alter the Earth’s ecosystem by driving a Prius? Do you think humans are powerful enough to somehow control or stabilize an ecosystem that has been evolving for 4.53 billion years???
Again, I think we should all strive to be good stewards of our planet and commit ourselves to better public health outcomes while also reducing global conflict by using renewable power, but I also think it’s still okay to drive a pickup truck, use a clothes dryer, microwave oven or a flat-screen television.
GUNS
I consider myself to be a strong supporter of the Second Amendment, but I do not believe that the Second Amendment — nor the First Amendment — is absolute. As a classic example, you certainly have the right to free speech, but you cannot yell ‘fire!” in a crowded movie theater; nor can you publicly threaten to assassinate the president or another person. Your FIRST AMENDMENT rights are not absolute.
The framers, I believe, were all too familiar with a tyrannical government and wanted to ensure that ALL power would rest in the hands of the people, not the state. There is ample historical evidence that the framers were not too keen on having a standing army, but saw the necessity of a citizen militia that could be called upon in times of need.
Thus, the Second Amendment reads: “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
A lot of people conveniently skip over the first part of that sentence and instead focus on the last part regarding the “right of the people to keep and bear arms.” The Second Amendment is important to both our liberty and security as a nation, but it does not give my neighbor the right to own a rocket-propelled grenade launcher or an intercontinental ballistic missile.
We have, what I believe, some common-sense limits. Academics aside, however, this issue has become a flashpoint in American politics. It seems almost impossible to have a civilized conversation about this topic because of an increasing frequency in horrific mass shooting incidents, many of which involve school-aged children as the victims.
I am as horrified and as sick as you are of seeing incidents like these happen. I too want something to change. Now. Right now. However, as hard as it may be, we have to put our emotions in check and work together and across the aisle to solve this problem.
What I find disheartening and a bit peculiar is that so many people focus primarily on the guns. Typically, these are people who don’t own firearms and don’t like firearms. On the other side of the debate, people (typically from the political right) say it’s not at all about the guns. They do a mighty good job of pontificating about mental health services (right up until it’s time to fund mental health services).
From my perspective, both sides of this debate are a little bit wrong and a little bit right. When we hear the news about another drunk-driving related death, we are outraged at the driver, not the vehicle he/she was driving.
Each day, roughly 30 people in the United States die in drunk-driving car crashes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Data from the NHSTA shows that from 2010 to 2019, more than 10,000 people died each year in drunk driving car accidents. How many more?
Too often, when it comes to a mass shooting incident we miss (or perhaps ignore) the larger, more pressing question: Why?
Why does someone (anyone) feel compelled to slaughter a large group of innocent eight-year-olds? Firearms, including semi-automatic rifles and handguns, have been around a long time. But this is a relatively new phenomena in American culture, beginning sometime around the late 1990s.
Why are we so violent? Why is our country so far ahead of all other industrialized nations when it comes to gun violence? I think we ignore the why because it’s much more convenient to focus on the guns.
Bottom line: I think we need serious gun reform legislation to include limits on high-capacity magazines, tighten loopholes on the easy availability of firearms and require mandatory safety training. Even Ronald Reagan, perhaps the most conservative Republican president in the last 100 years, wrote to Congress in the early 1990s, urging them to take meaningful action in limiting high-capacity firearms.
This is not rocket-science. We can achieve meaningful and substantial reforms without taking away your guns. I also believe that an unarmed citizenry is a dangerous thing. History underscores my belief on that matter. [Disclosure: I have a significant mental illness and subsequently choose not to own firearms].
LGBTQ+
First, the good news. It is becoming increasingly easier for people to feel comfortable in their own sexuality, but this topic is yet another flashpoint of vitriolic discussion on social media.
My take? I don’t really see any negative impacts to allowing two men or two women to enter into a state-supported marriage contract. Numerous studies have demonstrated undeniable statistical data that reveals married couples are far less likely to be involved in crime or drug abuse and are far less likely to need government assistance and typically have a more positive impact than their single peers on regional economies. It doesn’t matter if the couple is same-sex or a more traditional heterosexual couple.
Look I don’t understand all the uproar and the wringing of hands about these topics, including gender identity. I am a middle-aged, straight, white guy. I don’t want to publicly discuss what happens in my bedroom, and I don’t care much about what happens in your bedroom, as long as it involves consenting adults. It’s really none of my business.
Yup, I do think there is a part of this issue that has become somewhat trendy. And I don’t like the whole “you’re either for us or against us” mantra. I think there are a lot of gray areas out there, and as a civilized society I think we can work out the kinks. Look, we figured out how to put a man on the moon, I’m relatively comfortable in thinking that we can address same-sex restrooms or trans-gendered athletics. As long as we can all take a deep breath and set emotions aside.
My default position on all LGBTQ issues is basically just be kind, tolerant and accept others who may be different than you are. I don’t need to fly a rainbow flag in order to be decent and kind.
That said, much of the emotional uproar on this particular subject focuses on children. Here’s my take: I think it’s perfectly okay and probably pretty smart to teach children how to respect diversity that they will encounter throughout their lives. Beginning, perhaps, in the fifth-grade, I think it’s okay for students to read books that focus on sexuality and gender.
At about this age, many children begin to have questions about these subjects, and it’s not always easy to have those discussions with their own parents or family members.
I never chose to be straight. My gay friends and relatives never chose to be gay. Either you are or you are not. A textbook or movie isn’t going to change that.
However, I am opposed to having these discussions with children under the age of eight. Any parent or teacher out there will tell you that seven-year-olds will gladly eat paste. Six-year-olds still believe in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the tooth fairy. Their brains are basically mush. They have little to no critical thinking skills.
If a six-year-old announces that he or she wants to marry their best friend, I would hope you don’t go ahead and book a function hall or send out wedding invitations to friends or relatives. For me, it should be the same if your seven-year-old announces that he/she wants to change gender.
You certainly can be supportive of that declaration without embarking on life-changing medical operations. You can address your child by his/her preferred pronouns. I think it’s okay if you allow a child (age 12 or above) to legally change their name. It can easily be changed again. You can be supportive and loving of your child but it does not require you to hit the operating room.
In Maine, I believe the age of consent is 16. Still a bit low, in my opinion. But if 16 is the age of consent, then it should also be the age of individual gender choice. I’m more comfortable with 18, or better yet 21, but we’re not talking about me or my kids.
At 16, your brain has not finished the formatting process that allows for critical thinking. Society says at 16 you are too young to vote. Too young to watch porn. Too young to enter into a legal contract and so on. You can love, support and nurture your children without introducing puberty blockers, hormone treatments or irreversible surgery.
But if you encounter an adult, or even your own child, who says they are gay, non-binary or trans-gendered why not treat them with anything other than respect or kindness?
Gay people and transgendered persons have been around since the beginning of human existence. Now, they are able to feel more comfortable and included in society. Even if your own religious beliefs claim that homosexuality is a sin, you can still choose to be kind. You can always be kind. That is a choice.
And that’s a wrap for the four dreaded topics of social media. Peace to you and yours.
I’ve told this story before, but I think it bears repeating, especially since we are about to celebrate the Fourth of July holiday and because our nation seems increasingly divided as our focus becomes more and more about our own individual concerns and less about the nation as a whole.
It’s also because today is July 2, the 41st anniversary of my Basic Military Training start date in the United States Air Force.
What you are about to read is all true: a little bit of humor, a little bit self-realization but mostly the justification for why I believe every American citizen should undergo basic training.
Continue reading at your own risk. Remember, I am sharing my story. Things may operate much differently today at Lackland Air Force Base than when I was there more than 40 years ago. Secondly, I may get some minor details wrong, but again I’m going back more than four decades.
******
It was a long day of travel, from waving goodbye to my mother and sister at the Portland Jetport, to a connecting flight in Boston, landing at Dallas/Ft. Worth and finally San Antonio. It was July 2, 1982.
I had no fucking clue about what I would soon experience.
I learned two very important lessons within 30 seconds after stepping off the bus at Lackland Air Force Base. First, if you are considering military service, work with your recruiter so that your first day of training doesn’t fall on July 2 in southern Texas.
It was so friggen hot! The heat hit me like an unforgiving concrete wall. I was also tired. I had been awake since 4 a.m., filled with equal parts anxiety and excitement. By the time we got to Lackland, it was close to midnight, not considering I was now on Central Time.
Lesson Two: Pack Lightly. Seriously, there is no need — despite my mother’s best advice — to bring your own iron to boot camp. You will also not need several changes of clothes, a box of Twinkies or a camera or even a jar of your grandmother’s pickled dandelion greens. Trust me on this.
From the darkness, a voice began screaming at us. “Drop your bags next to your right foot!” Easy. So far, so good. This isn’t so bad.
“Now pick your fucking bags up!,” the voice screamed only two seconds later. Okay, dude. No need to yell. “Put your fucking bags next to your right foot!,” the voice screamed again. Wait. What? Didn’t we already do this? “Pick your bags up, you stinking piles of shit!” Okay, there’s no need to scream, and we can certainly do without the insults. Just make up your mind.
“Put ‘em down! Pick them up! Put them down! Pick them up!” This went on for a few minutes. Most everyone else had a very small bag. Maybe some toiletries and clean pair of underwear. I had like 165 pounds of shit in my bag. (Okay a bit of an exaggeration) But I did, unfortunately, catch the attention of my Technical Instructor (commonly known in other branches as a Drill Instructor).
It was my very first time meeting TSgt. Edward Ramirez face-to-face. It was not a pleasant meeting. “What is your major malfunction?” he screamed at me, only inches from my face even though I was about a foot taller. I didn’t know what to say. That, apparently, really pissed him off and pretty much set the tone for the next six weeks of training.
There we were. Roughly 50 of us rainbows standing there on the hot asphalt next to the bus, with no idea what would happen next.
When you first arrive at Lackland you are referred to as “rainbows” because you are all wearing different colored clothes. You stand out from everyone else because you are different. Rainbows get zero respect from either the instructors or other troops who are further along in their training.
In fact, a popular chant is: “Rainbow, rainbow, don’t be blue – My recruiter screwed me too”
We were marched to the place that would be our home for the next six weeks. It was a relatively modern building, not much different than what you see in the movies. There was a line of cots (no bunk beds) lining both sides of the room. Upon arriving, we were told to “Find a bunk, Now!” Fifty-one guys scrambled to find and stake out one of 50 available cots.
I was lucky. Found one near the door. Airman Basic Stanton from Iowa was not so lucky, so — much to my chagrin — he stood at attention right next to me. We kept our eyes straight ahead but could hear the approaching clicking of Tsgt. Ramirez’s heels on the tile floor. “Are you two sweethearts gonna sleep together?” he inquired. “Sir, no sir,” I replied, as instructed.
*****
Essentially, basic training in the Air Force (at least back then) is pretty much divided into three equal categories. During the first 12 days or so, your instructors do everything possible to break you down into your most basic form. You are no longer an individual. No one is concerned about your individual needs or wants.
On the first full day of training, your head is shaved. No facial hair is allowed. You receive your fatigues, a pair of combat boots, six pair of black wool socks, six white crew-neck t-shirts and six pairs of briefs. You are no longer rainbows. You are now pickles. All green and prickly.
On about the fifth day of training, you receive your name tags that are worn above your left pocket. Just your last name. No one gives a rat’s ass about your first name. Now you are canned pickles. You have a label. The tag above your right pocket reads: USAF. That’s it. No rings. No jewelry. Nothing. You are part of a unit. You are all eat the same food. There is no special treatment. You are an Airman Basic. E-1 on a scale that goes all the way to E-9 for enlisted men.
E-1. You are worth about as much as a pint of frozen cat piss. You get zero respect. You are worthless. You are nothing. You do not think. You follow orders without hesitation. You do not speak unless spoken to. You are worth less than a fart in church. You are not Catholic, Jewish, Protestant, Atheist or Muslim. You are not white, black or Hispanic. Nobody give’s a rat’s ass about your level of education, your parents’ bank statements or where you were raised.
None of it matters. None of it. You are now part of something far more important and meaningful than you. You are part of a unit. If the unit fails, you fail. If the unit succeeds, you succeed. There is no quiet time. You go to bed when told. You get up when told. You get five minutes (no more) every morning to “shit, shower and shave.” Enjoy it. That’s about as relaxing as it gets. At least for the first few days of training. You are responsible for every other man in Flight 016, Squadron 3704. They are responsible for you. There are zero exceptions and you do not ask questions. You follow orders. Period. End of story.
Back then, Basic Military Training in the Air Force lasted roughly six weeks. I say roughly because you must complete 30 days of training in order to graduate. Weekends and holidays do not technically count as days of training, but there is no such thing as a day off during basic training. Every day is a new challenge. Every day is a new opportunity to learn to become better, to exceed expectations.
Now you see why starting Basic Training on July 2 was such a bad move. July 2 (our travel day) was on a Friday. Saturday, July 3 did not count as a day of training. Sunday, which wouldn’t count, regardless — was the Fourth of July and Monday, July 5, was a federal holiday. That’s four days of shit with zero credit. It is tough and demanding. But if you can’t handle the rigors of basic training, what are you going to do if you find yourself in a combat situation?
****
A bunch of canned pickles. I am top row, third from right
Within 10 days or so, things start getting a bit easier. Make no mistake, it’s still rigorous but the culture shock has started to wear off. You begin to form friendships with your fellow trainees. You can perfectly execute an about-face maneuver; you begin to absorb military culture. The routine itself becomes somewhat comforting. You laugh to yourself when you see a new group of rainbows getting off the bus. You begin to look forward to that final week of training when you trade in your fatigues for your dress blues.
The bonding between trainees is inevitable and necessary. It’s basically one for all, and all for one. If someone screws up, they’re going to get shit from the instructors but they’re also going to get shit from their fellow trainees.
At first, it seems stupid to have to fold your underwear in six-inch squares. But as our TI told us, the Air Force is not going to let you work on Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) if you can’t figure out how to fold your underwear in a six-inch square. Pretty much makes sense to me.
Basic training is unforgiving. There is only one standard, and you have no choice. No variables. I could tell you lots of funny stories, including how I earned the name of “wet-man” while running the confidence course or about receiving a hand-written note from President Reagan, but none of that really matters today.
In retrospect, what matters is that Basic Training makes you a better person. What I learned during those six short weeks, some 40 years ago, made me a better employee. It makes me a better husband, a better friend and especially a better father.
But there is something much more important than all of that. Basic training made me a better citizen. It made me care about my country, about the world around me; about my fellow man.
In short, that’s why I think every citizen should undergo some form of basic training within a year of their eighteenth birthday. And now for the hard part . . .
******
For nearly 40 years, I have carried the following fact around with me like a chain of Kryptonite hanging on my neck. I did not graduate from basic military training.
Three days before I was scheduled to graduate, I was told to report to the medical office and a very kind Major told me that I was being sent home.
In my mind, I had failed. I was ashamed to my core. I washed out. I couldn’t hack it. I was a fuck-up. Those were the messages I played in mind that moment and almost every other day since then.
But here’s the thing, and both the Major and Tsgt. Ramirez told me: “You are receiving an Honorable Discharge. There is nothing to be ashamed of.”
I was too busy holding back tears to absorb their words. For nearly two years, I had waited to join the United States Air Force. I bragged about it throughout my senior year at Thornton Academy.
I had come so close. But no cigar. Now, just as most of my peers back home were heading off to college campuses, I was coming home as a failure.
Essentially, there are basically three different types of discharges you can receive once you complete your military career. Dishonorable, which means you were a class-A screw-up or convicted of a felony. General Discharge, sort of a don’t ask, don’t tell situation where the military sends you on your way without any benefits; and Honorable, which means you met the standards of the military, but your service is no longer needed, your enlistment has expired or there is a medical reason that prevents you from serving.
Yes, my discharge was honorable, but I always – until fairly recently – saw it as a failure. Today, a copy of my discharge is framed and hanging in my office. Slowly, I am beginning to reconcile myself with what I always considered as my first epic blunder as an adult.
What happened? Why was I not allowed to graduate with the rest of my flight?
Essentially, about five weeks into my training, I began to sleep-walk at night. I was found wandering the corridors wearing nothing but my underwear. I was told to go back to my bunk, I had no idea how I got out to the hallway. It happened again on the next night, and then once more.
In order to serve in the military, you must first pass a physical exam and a routine mental health questionnaire. If you develop problems during your initial training, the government basically doesn’t want to spend effort or time on your recovery. It makes sense. If you have a habit of sleepwalking, you are essentially a security risk.
So, there it is. I try to give myself credit. You weren’t drafted. You volunteered to serve your country, I try to tell myself. It didn’t work out, . . . or did it?
If I had to make that choice – about joining the military – knowing what I know now — the decision is easy. I would not hesitate to once again swear an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic . . .
A little more than 60 years ago, a young and idealistic President John F. Kennedy – a Democrat who would be considered a Republican by today’s standards – implored his fellow citizens to “ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.”
Today, it seems, we spend so much time worrying about being triggered; being offended by a book or movie or even a friggen’ beer can. We want to be constantly and incessantly recognized for our own, individual uniqueness; our own individual wants, desires and beliefs. We have little room for those who have different opinions and perspectives. We endlessly expect more and more from government, but what are we giving?
What are we doing, as individuals, to help our fellow citizens –even those whom we despise? Our nation is becoming a trove of self-serving, overly-sensitive and rather greedy bunch of souls, all glued to the mini-computers in our hands, rarely looking up to see where we’re heading.
How would you answer President Kennedy if he were alive today? What can you — yes you – do for your country?
And there you have it: I think everyone would benefit greatly from six weeks of basic training.
*****
P.S. Thank you so much to the roughly 1.4 million men and women who are today serving and protecting me and my fellow countrymen in the United States; and to the millions more who have served. Roughly 6.4 percent of our population joins the military, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
(The names of my training instructor and fellow trainees have been changed; they were all remarkable men, and I hope they are doing well)
Recently, someone on social media asked me why I think I’m “so smart” and “why should anyone listen or care about what I say (or write)?”
My answer is rather simple. In all seriousness, I’m actually not very smart. In fact:
I don’t know how to change my own oil;
I often get lost while driving in my own hometown;
For almost four decades, I sucked down an average of two packs per day of non-filtered cigarettes, resulting in serious and irreversible damage to my teeth and gums;
I dropped out of college, and then I dropped out of the seminary. For the first five years of my adult life, I couldn’t manage to hold a job for longer than four months;
I honestly do not swim in the ocean because I am very concerned about sharks;
Shortly after I turned 26, I thought it was a good idea to take a swing at a police officer. I ended crying like a little girl in a crowded Davidson County (Nashville) jail.
While mowing my lawn last week, I stepped in the same exact pile of dogshit three times.
On the eve of my 38th birthday, just a few hours before I proposed to Laura, my credit card was declined at the Samoset Resort. I had to call my boss and tell him I couldn’t get things set for our work conference because I didn’t have a credit card that would work.
I could keep going, but I’ll bet you get the point by now.
Sure, I know a lot of things about some subjects; but that’s just because my brain stores a lot of useless, trivial bullshit. Being a good player at your local tavern’s trivia night may sound impressive, but honestly — who really needs to know what SPQR stands for? (I bet you just Googled that).
Why do I need to know that Richard Nixon’s middle name is Milhouse??? I don’t know, but I do.
My home office looks like it’s occupied by an intelligent person. Looks can be deceiving. Sure, I have all sorts of books, including the works of Marcus Aurelius, Truman Capote, Jack Kerouac and George Orwell . . . . hundreds of books, Nietzsche, Descartes, Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Impressive? Hardly, I haven’t even cracked the cover of most of those books. They accumulate dust in my bookcases because they look good . . .
My point? We should be careful with words like smart and stupid.
(2001: On the roof of Biddeford City Hall, doing a marathon to try and save the Lincoln Mill Clock Tower)
For whatever reasons, and only God knows why, I have the ability to string together words and make a living by doing it. It doesn’t make me smart. People often tell me that they really enjoy reading my stuff. I like the compliments, but it has nothing to do with intelligence.
I think I do a good job of writing simply because I love doing it. Period. It doesn’t really matter that I don’t know all the intricacies of using a semicolon, but I know just enough to be dangerous. Never ending any of my sentences with a preposition.
I think people excel when they are following their hearts and passion.
Besides writing and storytelling, I love politics. I am a political junkie. When I was 10, I would read the newspaper about Watergate. When I found the opportunity to blend politics and writing . . . well then BAMM! I was off to the races.
As a journalist, I covered a wide range of stories and events, but my greatest passion was (and remains today) writing about the politics of my own hometown.
On a side note, my first opportunity to get paid for what I wrote happened many years ago when I was hired to be a sports reporter for a weekly publication in central Maine. The thing that makes this anecdote funny is the fact that I knew absolutely nothing about sports. What I know now about sports could fit on a postage stamp.
I sucked at sports as a kid, and I never enjoyed watching baseball, hockey or football. I could not name, off the top of my head, even just one member of the New England Patriots . . . but if you want to talk about Spiro Agnew, well then . . . I’m your guy.
So, when it comes to bloviating on social media about local politics, I can be . . . well, let’s just say a bit overly enthusiastic.
Frankly, I’m always amazed when I find someone who actually agrees with me. I don’t expect or need you to like or agree with me about Biddeford politics, but be forewarned . . . this is my wheelhouse, baby. I’ve been doing this over three decades and this (Biddeford/Saco) is my hometown.
This is my passion, well that and watching the movie Jaws more than 250 times (and counting).
Have a good night, and don’t forget to chase your dreams.
This page offers links to each installment of my three-part series regarding the issue of homelessness in northern York County. That series of articles was published between February and March 2023 on the Saco Bay News website.
Additional stories and resources regarding this issue can be found by simply using the ‘Category’ section on the far-right side of the page.
PART ONE: Warm Smiles On A Cold Day | Several unhoused individuals share their experience being homelessness on of the coldest days of the year.
PART TWO: I Never Thought I Would Be Here | An unhoused Biddeford man talks about how he ‘lost everything’ and city officials in both Biddeford and Saco describe the complexities of the issue.
PART THREE: Where Do We Go From Here? | Resource providers and state and local political leaders paint a bleak picture and say increased funding and cooperation will be essential in tackling the issue.
Biddeford City Manager vents his frustration regarding the issue of homelessness and the neighboring city of Saco
City Manager Jim Bennett did not hold back his opinions about the neighboring city of Saco during a March 7 Biddeford City Council meeting.
City Manager James Bennett
The Biddeford council was in the midst of debating the merits of hiring a professional consultant to help the city take direct action in addressing the issue of unhoused residents in the community.
Bennett, who seemed clearly frustrated about the issue earlier in the meeting, decided to take a swipe against Saco officials and their response to the issue of unhoused residents.
“My two cents, for what it’s worth, if you want action — don’t waste your time having a conversation with Saco as it relates to this issue,” Bennett said.
Bennett’s unsolicited remarks came immediately after both Biddeford Councilors Doris Ortiz and Liam LaFountain raised the idea of working with Saco as part of a regional approach that could possibly save money and streamline resources.
Ortiz was clearly surprised by Bennett’s comments immediately raising her hands, leaning back in her chair and expressing shock.
LaFountain said he was disappointed by Bennett’s remarks and that both cities have many opportunities to work in unison on several issues.
“Working together as neighboring communities allows us to pursue more comprehensive solutions that benefit residents in both communities,” LaFountain said.
Saco Mayor Bill Doyle said he was also “disappointed” when he heard about Bennett’s public comments.
“Really, I’m sort of taken aback and at a loss for words,” Doyle said. “We’re sister communities. There’s no need in our local communities for this type of vitriol, which we see at the national level.”
Doyle said he was feeling optimistic about relationships between the two cities, especially following a joint council meeting in February. Both cities have appointed members to serve on a committee that will explore various ways the two communities can work together.
Saco’s deputy mayor, Jodi MacPhail, said she was “saddened” by Bennett’s “divisive” comment. “Growing up here, I remember the two cities having great relations, working on MERC, as well as many other projects over the years,” she said. “I will continue to take the high road and engage with Biddeford councilors and residents who appreciate both communities open dialogue without judgment.”
During a follow-up interview, Bennett said he is indeed “somewhat frustrated” both personally and professionally about the issue, but did not back down from his statements, including comments he made earlier during the March 7 meeting.
“I think most people know that I am a very straight-forward and direct person,” Bennett said. “My comments were honest and true.”
Bennett said collaboration with other communities may sound appealing, but often adds yet another layer of bureaucracy to an issue, ultimately slowing down the process of taking action. Bennett said the issue of unhoused people is not just a Biddeford issue, but that the city does need to “quickly make a decision” about how to proceed.
Earlier in the March 7 meeting, Bennett was clearly agitated, and he castigated those who raised concerns about spending $20,000 to hire a professional consultant who would help the city move forward in tackling the issue of unhoused residents.
Departing from his usual role in providing the council information about various issues and staff resources, Bennett offered more of a personal opinion to the council, questioning councilors and others who voiced concerns about hiring a consultant.
“I’m really tired of the misclassifications and all the other issues that happen around this damn issue,” Bennett said. “Personally and professionally, I’m tired. It’s time that the community make some decisions at this table,” he added, pointing to the council dais.
“I don’t think anybody should be really nervous that we want to bring a professional person in to help the council make a decision in full lights – and full FOIA [Freedom of Information Act] and where everybody understands what’s going on,” Bennett said.
“And if that makes you nervous,” he added, shrugging his shoulders. “Then I guess you ought to be concerned about what you’re doing and what your motives are.”
Bennett described the issue of unhoused residents as “probably the most difficult issue that a local, elected body can tackle,” citing a lack in resources from both the state and federal governments.
Ultimately, the council voted 7-2, with Scott Whiting and Bobby Mills in opposition, to hire a professional consultant.
Imagine this. You have no family in the area. Your monthly rent just increased by more than 45 percent, and your paycheck no longer covers your basic needs. You have to leave your apartment. There are no available apartments in your price range. Where do you go? Who do you call?
Now ponder this. How many paychecks away are you from finding yourself without housing, food and medicine?
According to experts, service providers and government officials, a very large segment of the homeless population can be found just beneath the surface of public scrutiny. They work full-time, pay taxes and follow the laws, but they are either living in their cars or “couch surfing,” staying with friends for a few days at a time.
“I never thought I would be here,” says Alex, a 31-year-old man who grew up in Biddeford and works in the service industry. “I’m trying to save up some money so I can get the hell out of here and go down south. I grew up here. I went to school here, and now I can’t afford to live here. I guess it’s nice that Biddeford is getting better, but I know lots of people who can’t enjoy the change.”
Amy is a single mother now living in seasonal rental unit in Old Orchard Beach. She has a three-year-old daughter. She relies on public transportation to get back and forth from her job in Biddeford, where she earns roughly $18 per hour. She needs to vacate her seasonal rental by May 1.
“Daycare is really expensive,” she says. “I’m having a hard time finding an apartment for less than $1,500 a month, including heat and electricity. I have no idea where I am going to go after May 1.”
Stories like these are becoming increasingly familiar, especially in southern Maine, where the demand for housing and the cost of living has skyrocketed, far outpacing area wages.
And then, there are other issues that need to be considered when trying to solve the problems of homelessness. Mental health and substance abuse issues play pivotal roles for many of those who are living without a home.
“I’m not an expert of any kind, but mental health is a big factor for many of the people we serve,” said Vassie Fowler, executive director of the Seeds of Hope Neighborhood Resource Center in Biddeford. “Substance abuse is also common. A lot of the people we serve are feeling intense pain. It’s pain that is there every minute of every hour of every day. So, people use alcohol or drugs to self-medicate. To alleviate the constant pain and anxiety.”
But getting services or finding resources for the homeless is a daunting task, especially so when you are living on the streets without a fixed address.
Sweetser, headquartered in Saco, is one of Maine’s largest mental health service providers, and they are having a hard time trying to keep pace with the surging demand for services for both housed and unhoused people.
“Right now, we have a waiting list of approximately 2,000 individuals across the state,” said Justin Chenette, a spokesperson for Sweetser. “We currently serve approximately 4,000 people in York County alone. There is a huge need out there, but we are at a critical moment because we are experiencing the same staffing shortages that can be found elsewhere.”
Sweetser offers several different resources for those who are struggling with mental health and/or substance abuse issues, Chenette said, adding that there is no real hard data to compare services between the housed and unhoused.
“We don’t turn anyone away,” Chenette said, adding that Sweetser offers a mobile crisis unit that will “go to” wherever a client is staying. Sweetser also offers a 24/7 “warm line” that connects individuals struggling with substance abuse or mental health concerns to trained peer coordinators for emotional support.
Fowler says her agency does its best to connect people with resources, but there are long wait times. “We help folks apply for Medicaid and other benefits, but it’s still a struggle,” she said. “If someone is in immediate crisis, we do our best to get them evaluated and treated at the hospital, but there are limits to what hospitals can provide in terms of available beds or treatment options.”
According to Danielle M Loring, Director of Intensive Services/Emergency Department Crisis for MaineHealth, which includes Southern Maine Healthcare, roughly 50 percent of behavioral health patients seek voluntary services while the remaining 50 percent of patients are being brought to the emergency room by paramedics or police following a suicide attempt, substance use intoxication, acute aggression or acute psychosis.
Although Loring says the hospital does not track patients by housing status, she did say that the number of emergency room patients without secure housing has grown significantly over the past few years, especially during the height of the Covid pandemic.
“A considerable volume of unhoused patients are now seeking care in emergency rooms to access a full range of care, including inpatient psychiatric or medical hospitalization; in an effort to have their basic needs met, including food and shelter,” Loring said.
The increasing unhoused population in Maine has a significant systemic impact from a foundational level, with no greater attention to compounding this growing public health concern. Loring said. “Families and children at risk of losing their housing or unhoused, suffer considerable impacts to their education, careers and medical/behavioral health treatment resulting from the unstable and often unsafe living conditions they must contend with in order to survive,” she said.
A growing problem for Maine and York County
Although all cities and towns in Maine are required to offer general assistance (GA) programs, those funds are often exhausted before the budget year ends. The state provides 70 percent of the funding for those programs, the rest is shouldered by municipal taxpayers.
At the county level, quasi-government agencies, such as the Biddeford Housing Authority and the York County Community Action Corps, are doing their best to offer solutions for an ever-growing problem.
“It’s no longer just about the people you see living on the streets,” Fowler said. “An even bigger problem is the growing number of people who are right on the edge of becoming homeless because of the cost of housing, both rentals and home ownership.”
Two years ago, several organizations came together to help reduce and ultimately end homelessness in York County. Part of a Maine-Housing statewide initiative, the Homeless Response Service Hub Coalition was created and includes York County Community Action Corp, York County Shelter Programs, Caring Unlimited, Seeds of Hope, the Biddeford and Sanford Housing Authorities and several other non-profit organizations.
According to Carter Friend, executive director of the York County Community Action Corps (YCCAC), the Hub is a “coordinated effort to restructure how organizations respond to the growing number of unhoused people.”
In 2022, there were nearly 2,100 people experiencing homelessness in York and Cumberland Counties, according to Abigail Smallwood, coordinator of the Hub program, who said the actual number is likely much higher because of the challenges in collecting real-time data.
YCCAC provides several services for unhoused individuals and families, including access to health care, childcare and a team of social workers who help unhoused individuals fill out with housing applications and identify local housing resources. But that agency is also trying to keep up with a growing demand for services, Smallwood said.
At the state level, there are also challenges to helping people who find themselves homeless or soon-to-be homeless.
Jackie Farwell, a spokesperson for the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, said the state offers several programs to assist those without housing, including MaineCare, which provides comprehensive care management to qualified individuals; the Bridging Rental Assistance Program (BRAP), a 24-month rental assistance program designed to assist people with securing transitional housing and serving those with serious mental illness or substance use disorder.
The BRAP program serves individuals for 24 months as a bridge between homelessness and more permanent housing options, such as Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher, or alternative housing placement.
And then there is the PATH (Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness) program, which is designed to support the outreach, engagement and delivery of services to eligible persons who are homeless and have serious mental illnesses and/or co-occurring substance use disorders.
A double standard?
It’s relatively easy to find social media commentary that decries the use of taxpayer funds to support immigrants and asylum seekers while there are not enough resources to provide housing for long-term residents and U.S. citizens.
State officials, however, say that anyone seeking assistance much show documentation in order to be eligible for state programs and services. Thus, illegal immigrants do not qualify for state services and benefits but may seek housing in shelters.
Asylum seekers must also provide documentation in order to receive services and benefits at the state and federal level. According to Farwell, there are three new overnight warming shelters in Portland, with a total of about 120 beds, that primarily serve asylum seeking individuals and families through April 30.
Additionally, the state provides hotel rooms for dozens more asylum-seeking households unable to access emergency shelters through April 30.
Since the summer of 2022, using funds authorized by the Legislature, the Asylum Seeker Transitional Housing Program in Saco has successfully assisted more than 115 families, made up of more than 400 individuals, with housing and daily services provided by Catholic Charities of Maine, including cultural orientation, transportation, school enrollment and connections with health care providers and adult education classes.
Farwell also said DHHS has also provided more than $15 million to 16 immigrant-led community-based organizations to provide public health, case management, and social service supports to asylum-seekers, using grant funds from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
State Rep. Marc Malon (D-Biddeford) is serving his first term in the Legislature and said it is important to note that programs and services for both asylum seekers and long-term residents are designed to address the “unique needs” of each group.
“I think we should avoid falling into the pit of a false choice,” Malon said. “The state is trying to effectively meet the demands of all people in Maine, especially those who are in the unfortunate position of being unhoused.”
Malon says asylum seekers have unique needs and challenges, including language barriers and the inability to gain employment because of federal labor restrictions. “In my mind, there is no question that our federal immigration system is broken,” he said. “I mean really, no one is coming to Maine just to sleep a few months in the Expo Center.”
Asked if the state should do more to address the growing housing crisis, Malon did not hesitate. “We absolutely must do more, starting with expanding the supply of housing of all types,” he said. “This is a statewide problem and it’s going to require statewide action.”
The lack of affordable housing presents a serious challenge in workforce housing. For example, a hospital needs janitors in order to function, but area housing costs exceed those wages. It is the same story for beginning teachers, new police officers and hospitality jobs.
“Workers need affordable housing,” Malon said. “If they can’t afford to live here or to buy a home here, then we are going to be hurt by labor shortages and supply disruptions. There are no easy answers, and this issue affects all of us.”
Editor’s note:The names of the unhoused individuals interviewed for this story have been changed to protect their anonymity.
Citing a lack of both resources and guidance from the federal and state governments, Biddeford City Manager James Bennett recently said the issue of homelessness is “probably the most difficult issue” that any municipality in Maine can face.
And while some social media users say the city of Biddeford and surrounding municipalities are “doing nothing” to solve the crisis, others say that expanding resources will simply draw more unhoused persons to the area, placing an even greater strain on local resources and taxpayers.
“There are a lot of factors that play into this,” said Biddeford Mayor Alan Casavant. “And there are no easy answers. In my opinion, we have a moral obligation to tackle this issue but we also have a fiscal obligation to the taxpayers. The question then becomes how do you reconcile those two things?”
Casavant said the issue of homelessness is becoming a larger issue in communities all over the country, and across the river in Saco, Mayor William Doyle agrees.
“We all want to tackle this issue, but it’s not as simple as just passing an ordinance,” Doyle said. “The problem is really aggravated by a lack of affordable housing in the region. If someone can’t afford to live in a house or an apartment, their options are limited,” he said.
Doyle said the city of Saco is looking for a “comprehensive” solution, adding that he and members of the city council recently directed City Administrator Bryan Kaenrath to develop a list of recommendations for the council to consider regarding affordable housing.
“It’s pretty similar to what Biddeford is doing,” Doyle said, adding that proposals such as inclusionary zoning and other developer incentives are all “on the table” for discussion.
Earlier this week, the Saco City Council voted to approve moving forward with a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) application that could clear the way for development of a 60-unit affordable housing development near the intersection of the Ross Road and Portland Road.
Kaenrath said he and his staff are “digging deep into the issue” in order to develop some “tangible and meaningful ways” to address what he acknowledged is a growing issue in the city.
“It’s not a problem that you can just throw some money at and have the problem solved,”Casavant said, pointing to other Maine communities that are still struggling with the unhoused crisis, despite spending millions of dollars to combat the issue.
According to the federal department of Housing and Urban Development, the number of people experiencing homelessness in Maine increased by more than 110 percent since 2020, and is up by more than 85 percent since 2010.
The Law Enforcement Perspective
Although the increasing number of unhoused people remains relatively hidden beneath the surface of day-to-day life, there is a growing strain on municipal services, including local police departments.
Joanne Fisk, Interim Biddeford Police Chief, said there has been a spike in calls for mental health services since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic three years ago.
“Of course, that’s not all related to our unhoused population, but it is a factor,” Fisk said. “it’s not illegal to be homeless. We are constantly looking for ways we can adapt and better connect individuals with appropriate services and resources.”
Fisk said Biddeford recently hired a community engagement specialist to work as a liaison between the department and social service agencies, including the Seeds of Hope resource center.
Sgt. Steve Gorton has been working for the Biddeford Police Department for 27 years. Today, he heads up the community resource division for the department. He says issues related to the unhoused population “ebbs and flows.”
“There’s no question that more people are struggling, but I have not seen a big spike,” he said. “Our unhoused population experiences the same challenges as every one else, whether it’s domestic violence, assaults and theft. These issues are nowhere near unique to the unhoused.”
Gorton said police sometimes receive complaints about pan-handling near certain, busy intersections in the city. “There’s not really much we can do,” he said. “It’s not illegal to pan-handle.”
According to the Bangor Police Department, nearly a third of annual police calls involve people experiencing homelessness and/or mental health issues. That city has also created mental health liaison positions within their police department.
The Lewiston City Council late last year voted 4-3 to create an ordinance that would prohibit people from sleeping on city property at night, between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. That ordinance, which drew plenty of criticism from homeless advocates, is expected to go into effect on April 1.
On a recent warm afternoon, Robert, 57, stands on the corner of Main and Lincoln streets, directly across the street from Biddeford City Hall. He holds a sign he fashioned from a used pizza box: “Dammit! I need work.”
Robert says he moved to Maine a couple of years ago and has been struggling with alcoholism for many years. He said he is sober now, but that it is becoming increasingly hard to get “back on his feet.” When asked where he lives, he says he spends much of his time in Veteran’s Memorial Park.
“It’s degrading for a man my age to be out here begging,” he said. “It might be okay if you’re a young guy or something, but not for someone my age. Yeah, I made some bad choices, but now I have nothing. Literally nothing. I just want a job, but no one wants to hire a guy who doesn’t have an address or personal hygiene products.”
Bigger cities, bigger problems
“Some of Maine’s largest cities are spending a lot of money and still have a lot of problems,” Casavant said. “That does not mean that we can ignore the issue or just hope that someone else is going to fix it. I suspect that we’ll need to begin fixing a lot of little things that all contribute to the larger problem.”
By state law, every municipality in Maine is required to provide a General Assistance (GA) program to help residents with temporary emergency funding for things such as housing, heating and personal items. But even that program presents challenges for those on the bottom of the economic scale.
In order to receive GA services, applicants must demonstrate income and resource requirements. And although the city can provide temporary help for rental payments, it cannot provide housing or security deposits.
Municipal expenditures for General Assistance are funded by a 70 percent matching contribution from the state and 30 percent from the local community, presenting a bigger share of the problem for larger, service-center communities such as Bangor, Portland, Lewiston and Biddeford.
“It’s a regional issue,” Casavant said. “But unfortunately, it’s the larger communities such as Biddeford that have to bear the brunt of the cost.
LESSONS IN MEDIOCRITY | OUTLAW JOURNALIST 