Eric S. Brewer is a Homeless Voices for Justice advocate.
To the residents of Portland, there is a crisis the city will have to contend with in the winter of 2026-2027. In 2025, according to records kept by local social service agencies, 52 unhoused people died in Portland. The 52 unhoused who died were remembered at a Winter solstice vigil in December.
The average age of those who died was 57. The deaths are due to chronic medical conditions, overdoses, suicide and vehicle accidents. On average, the unhoused live 28 years less than those of us who are housed.
The warming shelter to house the homeless during extreme winter conditions at 166 Riverside St. closed for good after the winter season finished. This year the city does not yet have space for a new warming shelter. I am urging you to support a warming shelter, even possibly in your part of town.
There are not many options for the city of Portland to choose from, though there is a budget for a warming shelter. The money could possibly come from a part of the opioid settlement funds that was awarded to the city. Another possible source of funding is a MaineHousing grant for a warming shelter. Even though we are still sweltering in the summer heat, we have only a few months before temperatures drop and the snow falls.
The alternative to not having a warming shelter is dire. Many people will suffer needlessly and we will possibly have more possible deaths due to a lack of adequate shelter during extreme weather conditions. The city of Portland has a tentative plan to keep a warming shelter open every night from December until March, once it has a shelter in place.
The former warming shelter opened when conditions reached 15 degrees or below, or 10 inches of snow or more. On Feb. 23, 2026, when Portland experienced blizzard conditions, the warming shelter did not open and people had nowhere to shelter from the cold snow and wind.
Many of the people living on the street have health problems, and many of the health problems are a direct result of exposure to living outside. Some of the homeless are elderly. Not all will make it through another winter outdoors. Frostbite is one of the hazards of being outdoors and hypothermia. Many people get sick and suffer infections too. This means more EMS calls and the city of Portland EMS will be dispatched more to answer these calls, which could be avoided.
The worst part about being cold isn’t the cold itself. It is the feeling of being invisible and being hopeless, knowing that you might die out there. Being temporarily housed means that a person may not use drugs that night, and save somebody from a potential overdose. Many people who are unhoused use or drink just to escape an intolerable situation.
When people are housed, or even sheltered for just one night, they have a better chance of seeking recovery support. Also there are veterans who are experiencing homelessness and stay outdoors and live outside. They served our country but due to illnesses sustained from military service, they can no longer function in society. Many are now disabled.
My personal experience living in less than ideal conditions six years ago was living in a sober house with no heat in the middle of the winter. We tried using space heaters, but they were too much of a drain on the circuit breakers, so we remained cold. All I could think about was survival, nothing else. I wore my clothes to bed, including my coat and gloves, hat, shoes. Every night I could see my breath in the room. It’s no way to live.
The question I ask myself is if a warming shelter were proposed for the part of town that I live in, would I support it? My answer is yes. I hope yours is too. A warming shelter in the city of Portland that is open every night could save a life otherwise lost, but it will definitely make someone’s life better — if only for a little while.