MaineHousing proposes $1.1 million contract for Preble Street to coordinate Maine's homeless service hubs. MaineHousing has proposed a contract award of about $1.1 million to Preble Street, making the Portland nonprofit the coordinator of Maine's nine regional homeless service hubs, the agency announced Monday. The contract would put Preble Street in charge of hiring and supervising the hub coordinators. It replaces an arrangement in which eight agencies shared those duties. The contract is set to start Dec. 1. The current agreements with the eight agencies end Jan. 31, 2027. MaineHousing chose Preble Street after reviewing three proposals. The agency looked at each applicant's experience with community partners, staffing plans, budgets and ability to handle the transition. The regional hubs partner with local organizations to identify what people need, coordinate resources and connect people experiencing homelessness with housing and support services. Under the new arrangement, Preble Street would oversee all nine coordinators and work with MaineHousing to run the statewide program. MaineHousing Director Dan Brennan said the change is intended to make the state's response to homelessness more coordinated and efficient. "This change will let the hubs keep doing their good work in a focused and efficient way. It will also make sure each hub coordinator gets the support they need to work together and help make homelessness rare and brief across Maine," Brennan said. Preble Street Executive Director Mark Swann welcomed the contract. He said the organization plans to improve coordination, collect better data and help more people find permanent housing. "We're very excited to receive this grant from MaineHousing and look forward to helping create and lead a stronger response to homelessness in Maine," Swann said. The proposed award comes after questions about how Preble Street manages homeless services in Portland. In October, The Maine Wire reported on city inspection records for Elena's Way, the 40-bed shelter Preble Street operates at 5 Portland St. The records showed that city staff learned during an April 2025 inspection that required evening exterior safety patrols were not being conducted because of staff safety concerns. Preble Street later said it had corrected the problem. During an Aug. 28, 2026, inspection, Portland inspectors found the patrols still were not happening, and the city rated the shelter's safety-monitoring requirement "Not Met." Preble Street told the Portland Press Herald in October that it was looking into how it could appeal the inspection report, saying the report did not accurately reflect its work at Elena's Way. Preble Street also figured in Portland's plans for a winter warming shelter. The Portland Press Herald reported that Seeds of Hope, a Biddeford nonprofit, was to operate the shelter in the basement of Elena's Way. According to a city council memo, Seeds of Hope later told city staff it was no longer willing to do so "due to community resistance and regulatory challenges," and Preble Street also declined to operate a shelter there. On Nov. 2, the Portland City Council voted 7-2 to appropriate $735,000 in opioid settlement funds toward a warming shelter at 166 Riverside Industrial Parkway, the Press Herald reported. MaineHousing's announcement did not mention the Elena's Way inspection findings or the warming shelter plans. Both are separate from the statewide contract. The announcement also did not explain how the funding would be divided or list specific ways to measure the program's success.