Stretched Thin: The cost of getting by in Maine

PART I PART II PART III Every day, thousands of Mainers are faced with the hardest choices: buy food or pay for a prescription; drive far for medical care or risk going without; toil to afford child care or stop working; go to a homeless shelter or sleep in a tent. Across the state, many households fall either below the federal poverty line or just above that threshold, where people struggle to afford basic expenses, but don’t always qualify for assistance. As the prices of food, housing, utilities and other basic expenses increase, even Mainers who did not previously have trouble covering their bills are now finding themselves stretched thin. How to get or give help for housing, heating, food Are you barely getting by? We want to hear from you. MORE ABOUT THE SERIES Social services reporter Gillian Graham reported this story as a USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism 2026 National Fellow and a participant in the Center’s engagement initiative.

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