The State of Rental Price Disparities in Maine

Home. It’s something that we all crave — a safe place to hang our hats and raise our families. Over the years, Maine has welcomed hundreds immigrant families who are seeking asylum and looking for a safer place to call home.

Recently, however, housing shortages, increased rents, and state policies have created rental price disparities. Unfortunately, these disparities have severely impacted the immigrant families who are trying to make a home here.

Let’s take a closer look at these disparities, why they exist, and what The Good Helper Foundation is doing to close the gap.

The Rental Crisis in Maine

Maine renters have found themselves in crisis mode. Over the past few years, rents have steadily increased — and more and more low- to moderate-income families find themselves unable to afford the price hike.

In the past, low-income families would receive housing vouchers from General Assistance and other state organizations, which would cover their rent. The value of these vouchers is set by state policies. In years past, these policies reflected the average price for rents in each city. 

However, as rents have gone up, these policies haven’t kept pace. This means that the rental vouchers that the state provides do not cover current rental prices.

Let’s illustrate this by using real rental figures.

Say you’re a family of three looking for a two bedroom apartment in Portland, Maine. The market rate that landlords are charging is $1600, but your voucher from the state is only good for $1100. That’s $500 more than the value of your voucher.

While some families may be able to work more to make up for the difference, manw low-income families — including many immigrant families — are simply priced out of this market. 

The Struggle for Immigrant Families

This rental crisis has become even more serious for our immigrant families who have come to America — and Maine specifically — in order to escape dangerous situations in their home countries.

Many of these immigrants are hardworking families who have fled life-threatening situations and come to the United States to seek asylum. As they go through the process of seeking asylum, they are completely dependent on state resources to provide for their family, including food and shelter. 

And it’s the shelter part of the equation that has become a real problem. 

Cities like Portland and Lewiston are experiencing overcrowding in their family shelters. There’s simply not enough beds to accommodate the homeless families who have nowhere else to turn.

Naturally, these cities want to move families out of these overcrowded shelters and into real homes where they can start to rebuild their lives. 

But lately, the state policies we mentioned earlier, which set the price that they can pay for apartments, are standing in the way. This essentially prevents General Assistance and other state housing programs from paying the current market rate for rental units.

And as you can imagine, very few landlords are willing to accept less than market value for their rental units.

So where does this leave these immigrant families?

Here at The Good Helper Foundation, we’ve found a way to help.

How The Good Helper Foundation is Fighitng These Rental Price Disparities

Through generous donations and grant programs, The Good Helper Foundation provides rent subsidies that make up the difference. 

What does this look like?

Let’s say a landlord is asking for $1500 for a two bedroom apartment, but the state housing policies only allow housing assistance programs to pay $1100. In this case, GHF would provide the $400 per month to make up the difference until the family is able to pay the rent on their own.

The end goal of this program is to provide families with safe and affordable housing where they can gain a measure of stability as they rebuild their lives.

In conclusion…

The rental price disparities throughout Maine are complex. As we wait for state policies to catch up with current rental prices, our goal is to help the most vulnerable populations to access safe and affordable housing. 

But, of course, we can only provide this assistance with the help of generous donations. 

If you would like to become a part of our vision for a better future, consider donating to The Good Helper Foundation. Every dollar goes toward helping immigrant families with rental subsidies, furniture, clothing, and other essential services that enable them to build a new life.