Tedford Housing in Brunswick is a non-profit organization and is the only homeless shelter providing assistance to Midcoast residents between Portland to Rockland. On Sept. 2, Executive Director Andrew Lardie sought financial assistance from the Lincoln County Commissioners to assist combat a growing problem of Midcoast homelessness.

Tedford serves 40 towns in the Midcoast region covering approximately a population of 200,000. Lardie estimates  the non-profit's budget will likely increase by $1 million in a two-year period due to an expansion project, a growing number of homeless families and individuals and overall inflation.

In Tedford's Brunswick location, it provides 16 beds for individuals and six for families. Lardie explained the shelter is unable to meet the needs of a growing homeless population. In the past year,Tedford reported servicing Lincoln County residents from Boothbay, Newcastle and Waldoboro as part of Tedfords's six programs. "In addition to the people we serve, the unmet need is great," Lardie said. "In 2024-25, Tedford turned away requests from 170 families and 386 individuals which includes 16 from Lincoln County."

Tedford is nearing completion of an expansion project which is expected to boost the number of beds by 60% creating space for 64 additional guests, and commits to a warming center for 5.5 months. 

In the past, Tedford has received funding from philanthropy along with state and federal sources. The non-profit is now reaching out to municipal and county sources."Tedford has historically received less than 1% of its funding from towns and counties. As we continue to aggressively pursue federal, state and philanthropic funds, we are also hoping to achieve modest allocation from local sources to a total of 4%," he said. "Given the inefficiency of pursuing funding from 40 separate municipalities, our goal is to achieve most of this support from the counties."

In the past year, Tedford clients arrived from northern Cumberland County (31%), southern Androscoggin County (37 percent), Sagadahoc County (16%) and Lincoln County (15%).  Tedford reported receiving a total of approximately $3,000 in contributions from Midcoast municipalities and $15,000 from Cumberland County. On Sept. 8, Lardie confirmed Tedford Housing requested $12,532 from Lincoln County.

Tedford Housing was the last item on the agenda and commissioners adjourned without discussing the proposal.

In earlier action, commissioners approved purchasing 20 laptops for the Merrymeeting Adult Education Program in Topsham. The county is using Maine Connectivity Grant funds for the project. The grant provides funding for Lincoln and Sagadahoc counties and other towns in the Midcoast region.

Commissioners approved out-of-state travel for two Lincoln County Regional Planning Commission employees to attend a U.S. Department of Transportation conference in Anaheim, California. Land Use and Transportation Planner Curtis Brown and Community Resiliency Planner Laura Graziano will attend the Oct. 22 and 23 conference. Brown told commissioners the U.S. DOT will cover all expenses.

Commissioners also approved a $3,307.12 payment to Hillside Collision in Waldoboro for repairing a sheriff's department vehicle.

Commissioners meet next at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 16 in the courthouse.