BELFAST — The Belfast Homeless Coalition met for the fourth time Nov. 30, with members gearing up for their Dec. 1 meeting with Stephanie Primm, of the Hospitality House, in Rockport.

The group met in the Edward J. Reynold’s House, which was offered as a standing meeting place by Volunteers of America, the organization that owns the building.

While a large portion of the meeting was dedicated to discussing and planning logistics, the Coalition was also visited by Warren Ard, of the Garry Owen House, who spoke about his experience housing homeless veterans.

Started by the Garry Owen Motorcycle Club, a national organization, the Garry Owen House in Montville serves veterans struggling with homelessness. The group is still working to reach their $750,000 fundraising goal, which will be used in the construction of a facility on their Montville property.

Ard advised the Coalition on the importance of community recognition.

“The biggest thing is to get your voice heard,” he said. “Some people speak and the whole world hears,” referencing Stephen King as just such a person, and also one with a strong affinity for the state of Maine and its struggles.

Ard spoke about day-to-day challenges, as well.

The Belfast Homeless Coalition is currently seeking nonprofit status, tending to paperwork involved with that legal task.

Ard told the Coalition that most of the Garry Owen House’s legal services are provided pro bono by willing members of the community. He warned against the group assuming that once the paperwork has been filed, the process will move expediently, instead telling them it “can take years,” to have everything in order and signed off on.

Another challenge facing the Belfast Housing Coalition is the formation of a board, another requirement in the process. Though the number of board members is up to the respective organization, it is required to have at least a president, vice president and a treasurer. It is also standard for there to be an official secretary serving on the board.  

While the members of the board can come from within the Belfast Homeless Coalition, when the group met with Hospitality Hous,e Primm spoke about the benefits of having a variety of professions represented on a board. She talked specifically about the many legal risks involved in running a homeless shelter, including liability and personal exposure to lawsuits if the proper insurance isn’t secured.

Primm said the Knox County Homeless Coalition has five different insurances backing its organization and Hospitality House itself.

Primm also suggested the Coalition consider other community members to serve on its board, including a religious figure (pastor, priest, etc), someone with a clinical social work background, a local businessperson, and, if possible, a local lawyer. The Knox County Homeless Coalition has those professions represented on their own board of directors, which, according to Primm, is 30-members strong.

To learn more about the Belfast Homeless Coalition, email the Belfast Homeless Coalition.

Erica Thoms can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com