A Maine organization dedicated to ending homelessness is hiring its first executive director

As Maine’s housing crisis worsens, a longtime organization dedicated to ending homelessness across the state has hired its first executive director.

Dean Klein, a homelessness prevention advocate most recently from Virginia, has been tapped to lead the Maine Continuum of Care, a program created by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development to promote community collaboration to end homelessness.

The Maine Continuum supports projects from various service providers throughout the state. The program receives $24 million annually from HUD.

While the Maine Continuum of Care has been established for decades, Dan Brennan, director of MaineHousing, said it was the right time to hire a director. The leadership change was suggested by HUD, he said.

“There will be more focus,” Brennan said. “Before that, everyone had a day job…The community group, which was made up more of volunteers, was just struggling because everyone was so busy.”

Klein is tasked with working with MaineHousing to reshape the continuum of care with a new structure, board and governance charter.

Given the increasing number of people experiencing homelessness in the community, there is a possibility that more organizations will come together to create “more hope and impact,” Klein said.

According to the Point in Time count, which measures the number of people who became homeless on a single night in January, there were 4,258 people without stable housing last year. That’s about 31 people per 10,000 people in the state, according to HUD.

That is significantly higher than the national average, which was around 20 per 10,000 people. It’s also more than double the 15 per 10,000 recorded in Maine in 2020.

The point-in-time count is considered a conservative estimate because it is conducted in January, when temperatures can be dangerously low. Some people who sleep outside or in the car in warmer weather choose to couch surf or look for alternatives in the winter.

Klein said collecting better and more comprehensive data that can be shared between member organizations will be a focus when he begins his new role at the end of the month.

“I’ve heard that some people don’t have confidence in the data that is either being entered or has been entered, and that’s why we can’t use the data more broadly, so I think we need to invest time in this process,” he said.

Having this information is critical, Klein added.

“How do we know how we’re doing… if we don’t have the right data? “What indicators can we use to determine whether we are successful in any of these programs?” he said.

Other priorities include working with community leaders and local nonprofits, re-engaging with service providers and engaging people more, he said.

Klein also said he wants to ensure that people who have experienced homelessness can participate in a meaningful and impactful way.

All decisions, whether related to governance structure or collaboration with nonprofits, must come back to the question: “What impact will this have on people experiencing homelessness?” he said.

Klein, currently strategic sustainability project manager for Preble Street, has also served as a consultant to the Department of Health and Human Services on issues such as universal welfare reform and the Housing First initiative.

Klein previously led the Continuum of Care in Fairfax County, Virginia, and oversaw the establishment of the county’s office to prevent and end homelessness. He was a director for a decade.

According to a release from the Maine Continuum of Care, during his tenure, homelessness in Fairfax County (with a population about the size of Maine) fell by 50%.

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