Considerations on Homelessness in Concord
Running for office is an endeavor I take seriously, and during my race for the Ward 6 city council seat, I’ve focused on talking to and learning from city officials, stakeholders, and residents-- including our unhoused neighbors.
I met an individual at a meal distribution earlier this month who shared that he lost everything to a house fire in 2017, and in the years that followed, he bounced around between sleeping in motels, on couches, and outside in a tent while dealing with severe health issues. The story had a happy ending: after six long years working with the agencies in the area, he secured permanent housing.
A few weeks ago, I rode the CAT bus to Penacook for a meeting; it was my first time using public transportation in Concord and I had trouble figuring out which stop to take. Someone else on the bus who was going to Penacook helped me, even walked me to my final destination to ensure I made it safely. During our walk, he pointed out the apartment he and his wife lost when his landlord didn’t renew their lease. They’ve held down jobs over the last eight years while living in a vehicle, and they are still unhoused.
In 2014, the Concord Steering Committee to End Homelessness reported a total of 268 homeless individuals served by three emergency winter shelters and 52 year-round emergency shelter beds. This paints a picture of a more thoroughly resourced city than we have today. The Concord Coalition to End Homelessness (CCEH) now estimates that there are, conservatively, 350 chronically unhoused individuals, and according to the cold weather resources list from the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), there is only one overnight warming shelter in Concord with 40 total beds.
Here we are, over a decade later with a crisis worse than before, fewer resources to serve this vulnerable population, and a move towards criminalization of homelessness. Local police departments are empowered by the Grants Pass v Johnson Supreme Court decision to enforce anti-camping ordinances, which we have in the city of Concord. Here’s what it could look like to enforce the law to the fullest extent.
Deploy our already understaffed police force to known encampments and fine individuals for criminal trespassing.
Deploy our police to arrest them when they are unable to pay the fines.
Detain them in the county jail, which, according to a 2015 study, costs taxpayers $110 per day or nearly $40,000 per year, per person. Those numbers are a decade old, so with inflation and other factors, that cost is higher.
Release them back into homelessness, and repeat.
The policing, prosecution, and incarceration cycle is costly beyond the figures I quoted. Law enforcement officers would bank significant overtime. Encampment sweeps will run up a tab; the $205,000 spent to clear Healy Park this year will be spent multiple times over. The city or the county could potentially face lawsuits from organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire (ACLU-NH), who would be right to sound an alarm on debtors prisons.
Are you, as a taxpayer, comfortable with that?
I said this in the Ward 5 and 6 Patch and Concord TV forum, and I’ll say it again: We are the Capital City, so we set the tone for New Hampshire. 75,000 cars pass through our I-93 corridor daily, more on weekends and during peak tourism seasons. Northbound drivers look to their left and see the glistening dome of the seat of state power, and to their right, a dirty plot of land littered with debris and tents under the exit 13 bridge. It is, frankly, embarrassing for us.
Despite the time I spent debating moderator Tony Schinella at the forum on the topic of city-sanctioned encampments, a vote for me in Ward 6 is not a vote for any specific policy initiative. It is a vote to elect someone who will work together with a team to explore how we can expeditiously assist the homeless population-- and yes, that includes consideration into a well-regulated legal encampment with sanitation services. At the end of the day, the unhoused deserve dignity and a safe place to lay their heads at night.
The committee for Concord’s Plan to End Homelessness is currently developing their plan, and I am proud that we as a city are taking this initiative. I know that the smart and competent people doing this work have the capacity to imagine a better future as we grapple with ensuring enough affordable housing for everyone who needs it. Unfortunately, the basic needs of these 350+ individuals and families continue to be urgent-- it’s life or death at stake. 14 individuals died last year in Concord as a direct result of homelessness. I do believe that our leaders can find the courage to take thoughtful, decisive action, and it is our job as concerned citizens to urge them to do so.
