Tedford Housing

Tedford housing's homeless prevention program is an essential strategy for reducing homelessness by preventing it from occurring. A costly car repair, divorce or medical bill can push a relatively stable household to the brink of homelessness. Tedford housings homeless outreach and prevention coordiinator works to provide short-term case management and connections to resources to families and individuals experiencing a housing crisis. Tedford partners with community agencies and utilizes funding from the united way of midcoast maine to provide security deposits and rental assistance to prevent evictions and/or secure alternative housing to individuals and families either in danger of eviction or homelessness or to those who are currently homeless. In fiscal year 2025, the program served 79 households, comprised of 171 individuals, with financial assistance in form of eviction prevention and security deposit assistance, and outreach services, short-term case management and connection with local resources to an additional 309 households, comprised of 462 household members. Our homeless prevention program also includes a separate emergency heating assistance program, warm thy neighbor, which tedford housing assumed in 2010. Warm thy neighbor is an emergency heating assistance program for those in brunswick and adjacent towns who are at or under 150% of the poverty level and without sufficient home heat. Eligible clients receive 100 gallons of heating oil or the equivalent of other fuel. The program is funded entirely by private donations. In fiscal year 2025, warm thy neighbor served 231 households, comprised of 447 members, and distributed $87,741 in heating assistance during the 2024-2025 heating season.

In 2003, tedford housing made a strategic decision to change its focus from providing only emergency housing shelter to providing homeless prevention services and supportive housing services in the midcoast region. Tedford's permanent supportive housing units are occupied by individuals and families who have previously experienced homelessness, and provides a vital platform for people to move forward in other areas of their lives like employment, education and improved health. Using a housing first approach, tedford housings 37 supportive housing units provide safe, clean and affordable apartments with on-site case management. Many are occupied by adults and families who have experienced disabling conditions like mental illness and/or substance abuse and/or catastrophic events like domestic violence that have resulted in homelessness. Many have had multiple shelter stays and/or periods of unsheltered homelessness.tedford housing has six supportive housing apartment buildings; one in brunswick, two in bath, one in lewiston, one in auburn and one in augusta, with 19 units for single adults and 18 for families. Many individuals and families thrive in this supportive setting, resulting in more independence, greater self-sufficiency and a lower likihood of these tenants returning to homelessness. In fiscal year 2025, tedford served 39 households, comprised of 78 household members, in its supportive housing units.

In fy25, tedford housing operated an overnight winter center at 1 tenney way in brunswick for the first time. This low-barrier resource was open 12 hours a night from mid-november 2024 through mid-april 2025,and served 130 unique guests, including individuals, families and pets, providing them a warm space to stay overnight during the cold weather months.