Immediate Release
Monday, April 21, 2025
Contact
Pat LaMarche, Epicjourney10@gmail.com
Scott McLarty, (202) 878-2112, scott@memorialblanket.org
On-site contact: Jaylah Sawyer, Property Management Associate for The Maine Mall, jaylah.sawyer@brookfieldproperties.com
Homeless Memorial Blanket Project’s National Day of Action display set for S. Portland, Maine on April 22
- Display will highlight the link between homelessness and domestic violence; handmade blankets will be donated to domestic violence shelters
When: Tuesday, April 22, noon to 7 pm
Media availability begins at 1:15 pm
- Where: Maine Mall in the Center Concourse
364 Maine Mall Road, South Portland, Maine
SOUTH PORTLAND, ME — The Homeless Memorial Blanket Project (https://memorialblanket.org) will display handmade blankets and quilts at Maine Mall in South Portland, Maine on Tuesday, April 22 to highlight the link between homelessness and domestic violence.
The display inside Maine Mall in South Portland, Maine is one of many events planned for the Housing NOW! National Day of Action organized by National Coalition for the Homeless (https://nationalhomeless.org/housing-now-national-day-of-action/). The blankets on display were created by artisans from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Maine.
Organizers of the blanket display, partnering with Through These Doors (https://www.throughthesedoors.org), said that escaping domestic violence is a primary cause of homelessness for women. After the display, the blankets and quilts will be donated to domestic violence shelters.
Organizers invite members of the news media to attend and hold interviews any time after 1:15 pm until 7 pm, when the display ends. Mayor Jeffrey D. Harmon of Auburn, Maine (https://www.auburnmaine.gov/Pages/Government/Mayor), Cheryl Harkins of National Coalition for the Homeless, and Rebecca Hobbs of Thorough These Doors will be available for interview from 1:30 to 3:30 pm.
Ms. Harkins is also an advocate with Homeless Voices for Justice, a board member of the Maine Continuum of Care, a governor-appointed member of Maine Statewide Homeless Council, and Co-Captain for the Bring Americans Home Now Campaign of the National Coalition for the Homeless.
Jenn McAdoo, executive director of Furniture Friends (https://furniturefriends.org/) and Pastor Michael Rhyne of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Bangor, Maine will also be present.
The April 22 date marks the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s hearing of oral arguments in the Johnson v. Grants Pass case, in which the city of Grants Pass in California defended a law that effectively criminalized homelessness. The court sided with Grants Pass and against the right of people experiencing homelessness not to be ticketed, harassed, arrested, or jailed or to lose all their belongings because of their lack of housing. Among those endangered by the ruling are women and children fleeing abuse in their homes, with nowhere else to go.
Founded in 1977, Through These Doors serves victims and survivors of domestic abuse, dating violence, and stalking. Its core service is a free, confidential, anonymous 24-hour helpline.
The Homeless Memorial Blanket Project’s last display took place at Independence National Historic Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on December 21, 2024. More than one thousand donated handmade blankets and quilts covered the lawn and were thereafter distributed to families and individuals without homes.
The Homeless Memorial Blanket Project is hosted by the Charles Bruce Foundation (https://charlesbrucefoundation.com), which is located in central Pennsylvania. The April 22 display will be an arts installation by this nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization.
#memorialblanket
MORE INFORMATION
Homeless Memorial Blanket Project on Facebook (national group)
To find a state Facebook group, type Homeless Remembrance Blanket and the state’s name in Search
https://www.facebook.com/groups/322512689587858
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MemorialBlanket
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