Rochester set to clear homeless encampment at church after complaints. Solutions sought.

ROCHESTER — A homeless camp on the grounds of the First Church Congregational is scheduled to be cleared by city officials on Monday, Jan. 8. This leaves people living there and those trying to help them wondering where they will go next.

"It's winter," said Susan Breda, who has battled homelessness and cancer and is a regular visitor to the church's food pantry. She doesn't live in the encampment, but said she has friends there.

"Cities and towns are required by law to take care of their poor, their homeless," said Breda. "Instead, they are driving the homeless out. .... Give us some land. No, you'd rather shove us into the woods, where you can't see us, where you don't have to think about us."

The Rev. Eliza Tweedy, leader of the church, agrees many people prefer the homeless to be invisible.

"They came here and started staying," she said. "We are in a complicated position. I understand them, and I don't know where they will go. The city is trying to help, but their solutions are imperfect, and many will not take them. We try to help as much as we can."

Homelessness has increased nationally over the past year by tens of thousands of people. In 2021, the city of Somersworth had its police force clear a homeless camp on private property.

Tweedy said the church location, at 63 South Main St. in Rochester, offers a degree of safety, noting there are lights and medical and other emergency services readily accessible. She said it is better than being hidden away in the woods.

There was a fire in the encampment over last weekend, burning one campsite, Tweedy said, and the Fire Department responded quickly to extinguish it. She said one person sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to a local hospital. Tweedy said church officials were told to leave the site untouched until the Fire Department completes its investigation into the cause of the fire.

Breda, 59, currently lives in a Rochester motel, through help she receives from Dover welfare and a community action program. She has no car, drives a bicycle everywhere she goes, and she collects Social Security. She said she applies for every program, every assistance she learns of because she would love to be in a better place.

"It's hard to get out of this," she said. "If you are homeless, it's tough to apply for a job because you have no mailing address," she said. "You have a hard time finding a place to take a shower so you can look OK for an interview. Where do you leave your stuff while you go look for a job? Someone will steal it and then you have to start all over."

Neighbors of the church have objected to the camp. Church leaders sought advice from the city and the decision was made to clear the camp.

"There are good places like the Willand Warming Center," Breda said, referring to the Somersworth shelter operated by the cities of Dover, Rochester and Somersworth, managed this year by a group called Karlee's Home Team. It's open during extreme cold weather and storms during the winter.

"The new people running that are doing a good job. But it is only open sometimes. It needs to be full time. There are not enough places for people to go if they want to get inside."

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"The church is in a difficult position," Tweedy said. "I will not say if we are happy or unhappy with the camp being here, but I can say that we are unhappy that anyone is unhoused. This year has been very hard, with all the rain. Having all your stuff get wet every single day is very hard. They cannot ever get things completely dry so it's always damp and mildew sets in. What do you sleep in when your sleeping bag is in that condition? And it's cold."

It is not ideal to have an encampment on church grounds. But Tweedy said the gospel (Matthew 25) tells them to house the homeless.

"We are not the only church that does this," Tweedy said. "We have a long-term relationship with this particular community. We used to house SOS (Recovery) services here and we developed relationships. I am honored by the trust I have earned from some people. There are not enough shelters, not enough places to go. I understand the city, and services like community action are trying to do this in the least harmful way they can. They are offering solutions, but they are not perfect and some of the people will not accept the help. Where will they go?"

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Breda noted people in the camps who have substance use issues have even fewer options.

"There are no wet shelters for them to go to," she said. "People have to be sober or not using to be allowed in 'dry' shelters. I had problems with alcohol. I am sober now, but it is still really hard out here."

"It's a vicious cycle," said Tweedy. "Being homeless is traumatic. It is a form of PTSD and you can't recover from it until you are no longer homeless. There are comorbidities. There is a lack of resources and self-medicating can be a result. But not always. Not everyone out there has a substance use issue. This is not a problem you can just make magically go away."

"The reality is that many of us are only a back injury away from being where these people are," said Geoff Day, the church's day coordinator.

"This is a community and many do not want to leave the relationships they have built," said Tweedy. "And, what if you have a dog? They will not go without that friend, that pet."

First Church Congregational has offered a food pantry for 30 years.

"There is a huge need, in fact I'd say it has quadrupled," she said. "The food pantry helps to a certain extent for people in camps, but they are not in a position to take five bags of food. They have no place to store perishables, or facilities to cook meals."

Tweedy said the church will work with Community Action Partnership of Strafford County, with the city, social service agencies, and with the people in the camps. She said the church prays for good outcomes, and will stand by ready to help.

"As a society we tend to push problems out of sight," said Tweedy. "So we turn the unhoused into a problem. People become a them, and that's dehumanizing. I have come to care deeply about these people."

Rochester decides to take action, seeks solutions

City Manager Katie Ambrose said the city has received complaints, from residents and from patrons of the library, which is located next to the church.

"The church reached out to us on Dec. 20," said Ambrose. "We put out a notice about the Jan. 8 date two weeks ago so people have time to look at options."

Ambrose said the city, too, is working with organizations like Community Action Partnership of Strafford County, Waypoint and other resources through the city welfare department.

"People from these groups have been going out there on a regular basis to provide assistance and to make resources available."

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On Monday, Jan. 8, Ambrose said anyone remaining on the church property will be escorted by police off the site.

"We are talking to Willand (Warming Center) people for help," she said. "The city is looking at the possibility of opening a warming center for a few days as we sort this all out, as we try to find places for them to go."

Dillon Guyer, CCO of the Willand Warming Center and Karlee's Home Team confirmed they are working with the city of Rochester to help.

"Willand Warming Center and Karlee's Home Team is working directly with the individuals effected by the fire as they come to us, utilizing direct resources within our partnerships with local city welfare offices, Waypoint, SOS, Infinity Peer Support, and our wonderful team of support who are able to evaluate and adapt to their specific needs currently," he said.

Guyer said advised anyone who wishes to donate to help those affected to reach out via the Willand Warming Center of Strafford County Facebook page.

Rochester Welfare Director Todd Marsh said clearing the camp is a difficult decision and he's working on solutions.

"As you may be aware, about a month ago, representatives from the First Church Congregational reached out to the city of Rochester for help," Marsh said. "From a place of compassion, passion, and religious faith, a gesture of kindness morphed into an unanticipated and potentially unsafe situation, that was growing and could not be sustained. Representatives met with city leadership, including myself, to seek a solution for the complicated tragedy of houseless people in encampments that is duplicated across our country in both large cities and smaller towns."

After much discussion, Marsh said a decision was made to provide at least a two-week notice to people staying at the encampment.

"A collaborative approach was planned to engage with people at the encampment, learning about their life situation, assess receptiveness to improved options, and plan forward based on the results," he said. "There was consensus although not all will be receptive to near future options, it is important to build trusting relationships that will foster potential future conversations and solution finding when the time is right on their terms."

The church provided more than a two-week notice. Tweedy said this is important because she wants to be sure all social services offices, all city offices are open to provide help as needed.

"Outreach efforts have started, including our department’s collaborations with Community Action, Waypoint, and SOS," said Marsh. "Although some provider services overlap, it is that overlap that ensures maximum coverage by more than a single entity. Also, our eclectic system of services offers unique specialization to help the unique life difficulties of those in need. This eclectic system is only effective with maximum collaboration and coordination, which continues to improve through deliberate efforts.

Marsh acknowledged initial outreach assessment efforts showed the vast majority, for different reasons, are unreceptive to traditional sheltering options and, for some, traditional emergency sheltering options are unreceptive to them.

"I truly believe in this unfortunate situation there is opportunity for engagement and relationship building from service providers to those in need of patience, guidance, and hope," said Marsh. "A person that is not decision ready now may be tomorrow, next month or next year. We need to be there for when that decision is made and have options ready when that happens. We will continue to work with the church, our helping provider friends, and the people living in a situation the vast majority of us would not willingly want."

Marsh said he believes many of the unhoused people would choose a different life course if it was available to them.

"However, affordable housing (to them,) increased substance disorder treatment access, mental health services and an overall holistic system beginning with life wellness in mind, needs to be aligned to do it," he said. "If not leaps, we need to take continuous pragmatic steps to get there. We are not alone with our challenge, as it exists throughout our country; however, it is our challenge to solution find and not become overwhelmed."

This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: Rochester set to clear encampment at church as homelessness grows