Westbrook and Homelessness

About three weeks after "Bustlin' Bill" Baker took to the airwaves to highlight Westbrook's growing homeless population, the American Journal's Leslie Bridgers has a piece on the City's latest response to trying to quell the problem:

Westbrook’s general assistance program and three Portland shelters now have
a temporary agreement in place, which they hope to finalize by the end of
the year, to house Westbrook residents without homes for a fee of $20 per bed
pernight. The city pays the fee.

[snip]

The protocol for the city had been to put people up in hotels if they found
themselves suddenly homeless, which City Administrator Jerre Bryant said was
costly. He also said hotels lack support services, such as food and health care,
that shelters can provide.

- John C.L. Morgan