Local man’s death shows extent of Maine’s housing shortage
December 6, 2019
A Brunswick man was found dead in his sleeping bag by the train tracks on Federal Street on November 23. Russell Williams, 64, was reported missing on November 5.
The death is not considered suspicious, according to Brunswick Police Department (BPD) Commander Mark Waltz, though the official cause of death is not yet available.
Williams was born and raised in Brunswick and had been experiencing homelessness for years. He was a frequent visitor of The Gathering Place, Brunswick’s day shelter. Executive Director Mary Connelly told the Times Record that Williams “could never really quite get on his feet” due to a struggle with mental health.
“This is not someone who was from away,” Connelly said. “This was his home. This community is not somewhere someone should be able to freeze to death. He deserved better. His life mattered.”
Annie Rose ’20, who has volunteered at The Gathering Place since June, said Russell, despite the obstacles he faced, “was always warm and kind and tried to see the good in people.”
As of January 2018, an estimated 2,516 people were experiencing homelessness in Maine on any given day. In Brunswick, Tedford Housing served 86 individuals and 23 families between July 2018 and June 2019, but the organization still had to turn away 251 individuals and 205 families due to lack of space in its two shelters. Williams was not a guest at either of Tedford’s shelters.
Shortly before his death, Williams had received a housing choice voucher that subsidizes rent for affordable housing. He was unable to find housing before the voucher expired after 60 days.
“I’m hopeful that Brunswick will recognize this tragedy for what it is—a man ready to be housed, voucher in hand, but denied a home due to the incredible lack of affordable housing in our area,” said Rose. “I think it’s important for Bowdoin students to recognize how these social problems affect real individuals.”
A lack of affordable housing in Maine means demand is high for housing vouchers, but it also means that recipients of vouchers have difficulty using them before they expire.
Data from the 2018 Picture of Subsidized Households study show that recipients of housing vouchers in Maine had to wait an average of 33 months before receiving one. Daniel Brennan, director of the Maine State Housing Authority, told WGME that there are currently more than 19,000 people on the voucher waiting list.
According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, the shortage of available affordable homes for extremely low-income renters in Maine is upwards of 20,000.
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What’s missing from this article: the real reason that Russell Williams was homeless. Was he a drug addict? Mentally ill?
“Shortly before his death, Williams had received a housing choice voucher that subsidizes rent for affordable housing. He was unable to find housing before the voucher expired after 60 days.” What is the evidence that “housing shortage” was the reason he was unable to find housing? It is just as plausible that Williams was not competent enough to find housing and then earn income to pay for it.
Williams did not deserve to die of exposure, but homelessness is complicated. Don’t make it seem simple by suggesting that ‘housing shortage’ is the culprit, when in reality there are myriad more plausible causes.
You’re absolutely right in saying that homelessness is complicated. This article nor the one in the Times Record try to deny that. However, I’d encourage you to look into the Housing First model. It’s an approach utilized by many social service agencies working with people experiencing homelessness. Basic needs, such as food and housing, are prioritized. The model suggests that housing acts as an essential foundation for addressing issues such as mental illness, substance use, and job acquisition and income.
Moreover, in response to your comment on “the real reason” he became homeless, I want to say that the reasons someone may become homeless should not have any bearing on whether or not they deserve a home. These organizations operate on the belief that once an individual is housed, they can address any obstacles standing in their way to living successful lives. From my volunteer work with Tedford Housing and The Gathering Place, I’ve learned that many folks in our community have vouchers and work very hard, with case managers, to find available housing in the face of a very real housing shortage.
And let us remember that although Russell may have lived with mental illness and substance misuse, like many other people in our world, he was much more than that. He was a man with charisma, loved history, and consistently helped those around him, always the first to mop up spills at the Gathering place. The reality is that a man passed because he did not have a safe and warm place to sleep at night even though he had a voucher that was supposed to get him there. In this situation, a housing shortage was the culprit.
Responding to a few of your remarks –
“The model suggests that housing acts as an essential foundation for addressing issues such as mental illness, substance use, and job acquisition and income.” By housing, do you mean shelters and rehab clinics, or actual tenancy with rent to be paid by the formerly homeless? If the latter, that strikes me as disastrous, and I’d appreciate being seeing research showing my intuition wrong.
“I want to say that the reasons someone may become homeless should not have any bearing on whether or not they deserve a home.” Of course. I said that Russell did not deserve to die of exposure. He surely had positive qualities on top of his demons.
Neither this “news” (really opinion) article or you have provided evidence that a lack of housing is why Russell died. It is reported only that he could not find housing – it is plausible to me he lacked the competency to do it. What is a “rent subsidy” supposed to do for a man who likely can’t make any income at all?
Let’s get some more evidence before we name shortage the culprit. It is an implausible answer on its face.
Annie, I appreciate your service and the way you have voice to Russell’s life.
I don’t know as much about Brunswick as I should but what I see across Massachusetts is a reflexive opposition to affordable and or low income housing in all forms.
Finally, A Cold Bear, it does seem to be primarily an affordability question if he had a liaison assisting, a voucher to pay for housing, and was unable to find housing.