City gives homeless one week to vacate downtown encampment
Jan. 8—Manchester officials have given residents of a growing homeless encampment along Manchester and Pine streets until 12 a.m. next Tuesday, Jan. 17, to move, citing "increased public safety and health concerns."
The warning comes just days after the city announced it would use the Cashin Senior Activity Center as an overnight winter homeless shelter — prompting dozens of calls and emails over the weekend from seniors upset with the plan.
Notices warning residents to move themselves and their belongings by the Jan. 17 deadline are expected to be posted around the encampment at 9 a.m. Monday.
"The City of Manchester's community response teams, as well as nonprofit partners, including 211, will be on site to continue daily outreach to connect individuals with available services, including treatment for both mental health and substance use disorders," Manchester Fire Chief and Emergency Management Director Ryan Cashin said in a news release.
In addition to a warming station at 1269 Cafe at 456 Union St., on Friday the city opened an additional shelter with cots for homeless individuals Friday at the Cashin Senior Center. The city provides storage of belongings and transportation to and from the shelter.
"The Cashin Center is a valued space in the Manchester community that has a particular significance for me and my family," said Cashin in a statement. "The decision to use this space as a temporary emergency warming station was made to address the urgent need to save lives this winter."
The shelter's hours of operations for the temporary warming station won't interfere with regular business or senior activities at the Cashin Center, city officials said, promising Aramark will perform deep cleaning and sanitization every morning, including electrostatic sprayers and disinfecting of surfaces.
In an email sent Saturday to aldermen, Cashin said a total of 12 people — nine males and three females — used the Cashin Center shelter Friday night. Two left during the night, and the remaining 10 boarded a bus the next morning to be taken back to their encampment area.
"The night was very successful, and everyone who came in was very respectful," Cashin wrote in the email.
Several aldermen said their inboxes were flooded with emails on Friday and Saturday from residents — many of them seniors — opposing the decision to use the Cashin Center as a shelter.
More than a dozen of these emails were shared with a Union Leader reporter, in which residents wrote of health and safety concerns.
A woman wrote she is currently a member at the Cashin Center, and has been "for quite some time."
"Many are concerned about what viruses they may be carrying, and the scary things we hear on the news," the woman wrote. "Defecating on the street and sidewalks. Fornicating on the streets. Drug needles on the street and sidewalk, fires in empty buildings. I do feel sorry for these people, but the Senior Center is not the answer. The center is a gathering place for seniors, a place with a wonderful support group. Most of us are hurt and upset about this."
Another Manchester resident expressed concerns over the proximity of the Cashin Center to West High School.
"We have a number of young people using this sidewalk and in the area we're attending West High," the email states. "I was told by the mayor's office that people will be bused to and from the center when it opens and closes. Where would they be coming from? I also do not believe that all people will be utilizing this busing service. This will result in a lot of loitering, and possibly the tent city that we now have on Manchester Street at the shelter."
One email suggested that someone take a census of the homeless living in the Manchester encampment, collecting names and ages.
"You will find a lot are teenagers who belong in school, or with their parents," the email reads. "They love the easy life of drugs and sex, not working or responsibilities of daily life. they should be weeded out and made to be accountable."
City officials say the Cashin Center has been a part of Manchester's Emergency Operations Plan for decades, and was last used as a temporary shelter when the state cleared an encampment off the County Courthouse property in November of 2020.
City officials said Manchester's Emergency Operations Center is working to identify suitable space for a 24/7 emergency shelter. An update on an additional sheltering location is expected soon.
The city is advertising what's being billed as a "sit-down conversation" between downtown property and business owners and Adrienne Beloin, Manchester's director of homelessness initiatives, on Monday from 2 to 3 p.m. at the Rex Theatre.
"Many of your concerns have been appreciated, some from recent board meetings and this will be a chance to discuss and problem solve together," a Facebook post advertising the session reads. "We can gather concerns and solution ideas; share updates from the city; and provide support around the conduct and behaviors you are experiencing."
