Stephen, Tabitha King Donation Helps Grow Asylum Fund

A fund for asylum seekers in Maine is pushing its total to more than half a million dollars, thanks to the generosity of Maine authors Stephen and Tabitha King, as well others.

According to Portland officials, city administrators received a $40,000 check from the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation. The city also received $22,000 from the Karina Foundation, a charity based in Massachusetts.

The charitable donations will go to the Community Support Fund which will help hundreds of asylum seekers who recently arrived in Portland. The city currently houses about 600 people each night. Of that 600, approximately 400 are recently arrived asylum seekers. Most of those are from Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo fleeing economic, political and military problems.