History of the
Midcoast Maine Homeless Coalition
The development of Midcoast Maine Homeless Coalition and Family Harbor House appears to have occurred quickly. The timeline is below:
1. December 2024 – the organization, “Midcoast Maine Homeless Coalition” was created.
2. December 2025 – the ribbon-cutting ceremony for Family Harbor House was held.
3. January 2026 – the first family moved into Family Harbor House.
It is good to recognize that, prior to the flurry of activity and intensive efforts that allowed this to happen, there was a great deal of work done by many people.
The issue of homelessness is not new to Belfast, Maine and the surrounding Waldo County. There is a history of elevated poverty rates, homelessness, food insecurity, and hunger. A survey made in 2020 showed 63 individuals who were marginally housed or unhoused.
In September 2021, a group at the UU Church of Belfast, led by Rev. Bob Johansen, was working on a program in which several local churches would take turns housing and feeding homeless families. In July 2022, the group became an affiliate of the national “Family Promise” program. At least eight congregations were needed to make this model work, and by the following April, only two congregations were able to make that commitment.
The search for a single, permanent site was then begun. By June 2022, a possible site was found: Belfast United Methodist Church, which no longer had a daycare center using much of the lower level of the building.
In December 2024, the board of “Family Promise of Midcoast Maine” changed the name of its organization to “Midcoast Maine Homeless Coalition.”
Talks then began with the Belfast Zoning and Planning Office, and then meetings were held with the Planning Board and the City Council. The city created an ordinance that allows for a transitional housing site, and the zoning at the church grounds was amended, both allowing for the establishment of transitional housing at BUMC.
In February 2024, an agreement was made to rent the space at BUMC, and the facility was given the name “Family Harbor House”. At that time, Whitecap builders offered, at no cost, to do the work needed on the facility to create a housing areas, and Viking Lumber volunteered to contribute the supplies.
Soon, the work began. It involved the building of walls, creating two showers, re-building the kitchen, installation of a washer and dryer, and complete painting of the four sleeping rooms, a public area, an office, two bathrooms, and the hallway.
In October 2025, MMHC received a Certificate of Occupancy from the dity and hired David Beseda to serve as Program Director. An open house was held in November, and an official ribbon-cutting was held in December.
The first family to move into Family Harbor House arrived on January 3, 2026.
In May 2026, the Board of Midcoast Maine Homeless Coalition was expanded, as was the programming of the organization, following discussions with another local nonprofit, But Still I Am One. Several programs of that organization were merged into the work of MMHC as BSIAO dissolved, and several of that organization’s board members joined the board of MMHC. The group, “But Still I Am One” worked with youth, primarily in the local high schools, who were experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity. The programs added to MMHC are financial support that offers PEX Viso cards to youth; and a homelessness prevention program that secures local housing for them.
Midcoast Maine Homeless Coalition now offers transitional housing for families and financial support and homelessness prevention for Waldo County youth, ages 16-21, all under one coordinated program.
Rev. Joel Krueger (MMHC board member) prepared an extensive history of the Midcoast Maine Homeless Coalition in May 2026. The full 19-page document is available as a PDF document HERE.