Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Media Portrayal Of Homelessness In Portland, Maine, Molly Hardman

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

On January 24, 2017, 1,188 people were identified as homeless in Maine. The Maine State Housing Authority estimates that 527 of those people were unsheltered or resided in emergency homeless shelters in the City of Portland. People who suffer from mental illness and substance abuse, survivors of domestic violence, as well as unaccompanied youths and veterans represent many of the homeless individuals in the City of Portland (MSHA, 2017). There is an abundance of research on homelessness as it relates to mental health disorders and substance abuse (Sarvis, 2017); however, less attention has been paid to the portrayal of homelessness …