Word on the street this week, that the city is closing down homeless camps by throwing away everything and cutting tents. Is it true? I can't get out to the camps any longer. Me and my cane can't make it across the rough terrain so I have to wait and hear. It's been done before and we got some newspaper coverage. what the people may not know is that in the past the lawsuit filed made the city pay each resident who lost belongings for their loss of important papers, IDs, clothing tents bags etc. at $1000 a piece. The city is getting more aggressive in the need to rid the unsightly camps, but where do they expect people to go if they are not allowed at shelter or there is no room?
an advocate never really retires, as news comes in my brain just goes a mile a minute but my body can't follow direction. This all saddens me. for more info and advocacy help contact www.nationalhomeless.org

So Happy to see that the Salvation Army in Manchester has taken on the challenge of serving those without housing. 


http://www.unionleader.com/mark-haywards-city-matters/mark-haywards-city-matters-mobile-joes-bring-coffee-food-and-friendship-to-the-homeless--20170408

Homes Not Jails-Man who sued Hudson in panhandling case found dead in cell at Valley Street jail

For a decade or more we have been trying to address this issue in NH of people who are poor and unable to pay fines on city ordinances, such as sleeping in a park, not be forced to go to jail because they are poor. I personally have sat in the court room with person who appear with city ordinance tickets, they have no money and no way to pay. The Judge tells them to stay in the court  until the end of the day. They are allowed to use the phone to try to get the fine paid from friends a relatives, at the end they are taken to Valley St jail for however many days at $50 a day, so a $50 plus court costs ends up keeping the person in jail for 3-4 days wasting precious tax payer monies and creating a barrier to housing by creating a criminal record for being poor.

So as you read this article note near that bottom that FINALLY, " U.S. Justice Department wrote state judges across the country about how the poor are treated in courts. The letter raises issues with court fees, fines and the use of cash bail to incarcerate defendants."

It would like you or someone you love getting a parking ticket and when you are unable to pay because you lost your job or your bills keep your wallet squeaky clean being forced to go to jail for a day plus court costs. Why is it different for those who are experiencing homelessness? -Cindy

March 15. 2016 12:12AM

Man who sued Hudson in panhandling case found dead in cell at Valley Street jail

JEFFREY PENDLETON 

MANCHESTER — A homeless Nashua man who won monetary claims against both Hudson and Nashua police over arrests dealing with panhandling and vagrancy was found dead in his cell at the Valley Street jail Sunday afternoon, officials said.

Jeffrey Pendleton, 26, had been in the jail since last Wednesday, a day after Nashua police arrested him on a misdemeanor charge of marijuana possession. A Nashua District Court judge had set his bail at $100 cash, an amount he was unable to raise as a homeless person.

Pendleton was found unconscious in his cell at 2:45 p.m. Sunday. Corrections officers, jail medical staff, Manchester firefighters and ambulance workers tried to revive Pendleton, but he was pronounced dead at 3:19 p.m., the jail said in a statement released Monday.

“There appeared no indication that Mr. Pendleton was in any form of distress,” said Superintendent David Dionne. Manchester police and corrections officials are investigating the death. An autopsy was scheduled for Monday, the corrections department said.

Armed with lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union, Pendleton won settlements from both Hudson and Nashua police departments last year. Hudson paid Pendleton $7,640 after he was ticketed for panhandling on public property. At the time, he held a sign that read, “Homeless and Struggling.”

Nashua paid Pendleton $10,315 after he spent 33 days in jail for walking in a park adjacent to the Nashua library after police forbade him to do so. He died exactly a year after Nashua signed papers agreeing to settle the claims and avoid a lawsuit.

Both initiatives challenged the ability of police to force homeless people from public property.

“We will deeply miss Jeff,” said Gilles Bissonnette, legal director of the ACLU of New Hampshire. He described Pendleton as kind and soft-spoken. He said Pendleton wasn’t looking for monetary rewards when he took legal action against the police departments. He wanted police to stop telling people like him to get out of town, Bissonnette said.

“He knew there were people like him out there having similar interactions with law enforcement,” Bissonnette said. “He wanted change, whether if for a black person or simply a poor person out of work.”

He said the ACLU could not do its work without courageous people such as Pendleton.

“We trust that a thorough investigation will be conducted on the circumstances of his tragic and untimely death,” Bissonnette said.

Nashua police said Pendleton was arrested on March 8 at 10 Kinsley St., a private residence, and charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana. Police charged him with a Class A misdemeanor, meaning he would face jail time if convicted.

He was arraigned the following day and incarcerated Valley Street jail.

Dionne said Pendleton had been in Valley Street jail before. Two years ago, Pendleton had achieved trusty status, which meant he was given latitude to perform jobs within the prison walls.

“He’s always been nice here, never a disciplinary problem or anything,” Dionne said.

Pendleton was discovered inside his cell during a head count that takes place during change of shift, Dionne said. Jail officials are reviewing video and speaking to inmates to piece together a time line of Pendleton’s last hours. He said the door to his jail cell was closed when he was discovered.

Pendleton’s death came a day before the U.S. Justice Department wrote state judges across the country about how the poor are treated in courts. The letter raises issues with court fees, fines and the use of cash bail to incarcerate defendants.

In the letter, the Justice Department said that bail practices that result in incarceration based on poverty violate the 14th Amendment.

“Systems that rely primarily on secured monetary bonds without adequate consideration of defendants’ financial means tend to result in the incarceration of poor defendants who pose no threat to public safety solely because they cannot afford to pay,” the letter reads- See more at: http://www.unionleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?avis=UL&date=20160314&category=NEWS07&lopenr=160319600&Ref=AR&template=printart#sthash.11yFiKPm.dpuf

From The Union Leader : Homeless woman who was evicted from New Horizons struggles for stability

February 12. 2016 9:45PM

Homeless woman who was evicted from New Horizons struggles for stability

  Nancy Duhaime, 61, homeless since November, at her tent site on the West Side of Manchester. (MARK HAYWARD/UNION LEADER)

Nancy Duhaime, 61, of Manchester is recently homeless. (MARK HAYWARD/UNION LEADER)

IN LATE NOVEMBER, homelessness hit Nancy Duhaime. It came swiftly and painfully, like a brutal cold snap after a disarming January thaw.

It could have been expected, given some aspects of her life. She has family problems. She said she suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. She hasn’t been able to hold a job long. And alcohol might play a role.

So at 61, Duhaime has been crashing with a friend in a rooming house. When the weather is warm, she sleeps at her West Side campsite. She’s slept at the New Horizons shelter but has also been barred from there at times.

And some nights she just walks, choosing the relative warmth of mobility over the colder option of a restorative shuteye.

When you’re homeless, “you just become a different person,” Duhaime said.

There are consequences for homelessness. Last year in New Hampshire, exposure to cold was the underlying cause of death for at least three people, possibly more because tallies have not been completed, according to the state Division of Vital Records.

Nine died the previous year, but none of the deaths were in Manchester.

I visited Duhaime’s tent site Monday. It’s about a five-minute walk into Black Acres, the expanse of sand pits, woods and power lines on the West Side. She last slept there about a week ago, abandoning it after waking to snow and what the weatherman called a return to normal February temperatures. (See video below or at unionleader.com/homeless).



Last night, that meant wind chills that were expected to drop below zero.

“I want to go to a place that’s safe and warm,” said Duhaime, who tears up when recounting her plight.

Duhaime’s story can be only partially confirmed. She said she had been living for years with a roommate in a Merrimack apartment. On Thanksgiving, the turkey burned, a fight ensued, and the roommate kicked her out.

That Sunday night, Duhaime returned, and Merrimack police arrested her.

“The homeowner asked the subject to leave several times, but the same behavior continued. On the arrival of police they found Nancy Duhaime, now sitting in her motor vehicle drinking a beer,” according to a police summary.

She said she could not go to work the next day, so she lost her job.

“She had some personal issues,” said Mike Mongeau, her manager at Merrimack Tractor Supply Co. Duhaime was a part-time cashier and had worked for the company about three months. She did a good job and was very friendly, he said.

Mongeau did not know she was homeless. New Horizons for New Hampshire, the city’s shelter and soup kitchen, said she first arrived on Dec. 2 and has spent 19 nights at the shelter since then.

Duhaime said she has two sons who live in Manchester, one not far from her encampment. She said they help her out sometimes, but one has taken out a no-contact order. She said he has urged her not to drink when she takes her medication, but she dismisses his concerns.

We spoke several times on the telephone and met twice this week. She never slurred her words, and I smelled no whiff of alcohol.

Duhaime is 5 feet, 1 inch tall and weighs about 110 pounds. She speaks softly; on the telephone her voice is melodic and young. She smiles at times, but she cries easily. And she became irritated, even threatening, when she spoke on the telephone to workers for Mayor Ted Gatsas and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, threatening at one point to run against Shaheen.

Her biggest issue is New Horizons. For most of the week, she had been evicted from the shelter.

“She’s a very sick woman, and we want her to get the help she needs,” said Kevin Kintner, the program director at New Horizons. He said Duhaime has pushed staff, insulted people and screamed vulgarities.

New Horizons sees about 950 people annually struggle with problems of mental health, drugs and alcohol, he said. They have delusions. They are disruptive. They can’t abide by the rules.

Lots of New Horizons clients get evicted. They are welcome back once they speak with a New Horizons counselor, he said.

Duhaime has her issues with the shelter. Weeks ago, she got thrown out for a mandatory three nights when a beer was discovered in her belongings. She doesn’t like the shelter’s 6:30 p.m. curfew. She said her belongings get stolen.

She said she wasn’t screaming, only crying when her Xanax was stolen.

“I get kicked out for anything,” she said, “I’m scared to death when I go there. I feel like I’m walking up to the gas chamber.”

On cold nights like tonight, New Horizon has a heated hall where anyone can stay, even people like Duhaime who have been evicted from the shelter.

It doesn’t take too long to recognize that Duhaime is caught in a maze of fear and confusion. You lose your home and your bed. Anxiety churns into panic. You don’t sleep. You lash out. Small personality problems are magnified. You deny. You lash out. Who wouldn’t?

Toward the end of the week, Duhaime had visited social workers to restart her food stamps and apply for Social Security disability. (Duhaime will be eligible for Social Security retirement in a few months, she said.) We talked on the telephone, and she seemed positive. She kept an appointment to speak to a mental health counselor.

But when she showed up at New Horizons late Thursday afternoon, she had a black eye, Kintner said.

“The saga is far from over,” Kintner said. “It’s going to take a long time for her to get healthy.”

Mark Hayward’s City Matters appears Saturdays in the New Hampshire Union Leader and UnionLeader.com. He can be reached at mhayward@unionleader.com.

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looking fro a speaker to your event?

for people who keep calling asking for speakers to your events, I am unavailable, instead please contact Families In Transition
http://www.fitnh.org/about-us/contact-us/

or

THE WAY HOME (603) 627-3491 office info@thewayhomenh.org

for family programs and/or for Veterans programs

 

thank you

cindy

 

a great writer, passes into the long night

Jamie Kupchun the inspiration for the creation of the NH Under the Bridge Project has passed away on Nov. 18, 2014.












I am saddened. I hadn't seen him in many years, then more recently is was sporadic at best. In the  last few months I find he is living in the building next door. Spoken to him on the street. Introduced to his girlfriend.

Yesterday, fire rescue and an ambulance and police car in front of his apartment. His girlfriend screaming from the porch, "he's not breathing" and now he is gone.

In honor of Jamie, I offer another great writer, he would understand.

 

“In the City Market is the Meet Café. Followers of obsolete, unthinkable trades doodling in Etruscan, addicts of drugs not yet synthesized, pushers of souped-up harmine, junk reduced to pure habit offering precarious vegetable serenity, liquids to induce Latah, Tithonian longevity serums, black marketeers of World War III, excusers of telepathic sensitivity, osteopaths of the spirit, investigators of infractions denounced by bland paranoid chess players, servers of fragmentary warrants taken down in hebephrenic shorthand charging unspeakable mutilations of the spirit, bureaucrats of spectral departments, officials of unconstituted police states, a Lesbian dwarf who has perfected operation Bang-utot, the lung erection that strangles a sleeping enemy, sellers of orgone tanks and relaxing machines, brokers of exquisite dreams and memories tested on the sensitized cells of junk sickness and bartered for raw materials of the will, doctors skilled in the treatment of diseases dormant in the black dust of ruined cities, gathering virulence in the white blood of eyeless worms feeling slowly to the surface and the human host, maladies of the ocean floor and the stratosphere, maladies of the laboratory and atomic war... A place where the unknown past and the emergent future meet in a vibrating soundless hum... Larval entities waiting for a Live One...”
― William S. Burroughs, Naked Lunch

By The Associated Press
January 13. 2016 4:27PM

Groups sue Manchester, say city violates panhandlers' rights

MANCHESTER — The New Hampshire American Civil Liberties Union and New Hampshire Legal Assistance are suing the city of Manchester and a police officer, accusing the police department of violating panhandlers' rights.
New Hampshire Public Radio reports the groups argue that the police department has been charging panhandlers with disorderly conduct.
The ACLU chapter's legal director, Gilles Bissonnette, says the behavior isn't a crime in the state. He says the city is twisting the statute's language to criminalize panhandling.
The suit was filed on behalf of a 54-year-old Army and Navy veteran named Theresa Petrello.
The ACLU also sued the town of Hudson two years ago for its attempts to curb panhandling. The town settled.
Officer Ryan Brandreth is also named as a defendant. The city declined to comment.

http://www.fosters.com/article/20160113/NEWS/160119757

Heroin and homelessness

In the general population, it is prescription drugs, particularly opioid painkillers, that now are the main cause of overdose death, outnumbering deaths from all other drugs (including heroin) combined. Of the opioids contributing to overdoses in the Boston study, the bulk were indeed painkillers and other non-heroin narcotics.
The toll of substance abuse among homeless people goes beyond fatal overdoses. Other deaths caused by substance use disorders, especially alcoholism, accounted for nearly 8 percent of the mortality in the new study—a two-fold increase over the earlier study. And looking deeper into the statistics, it is clear that addiction plays an even wider role in the high mortality of homeless adults: The high number of heart disease deaths and fact that most cancer deaths were from cancers attributable to smoking (e.g., lung, trachea) reflect the high rate of nicotine addiction among homeless adults, 73 percent of whom smoke (more than three times the rate for the general population).
Homeless people suffer disproportionately from all health problems, and drug abuse and addiction are no exceptions. Despite improvements in healthcare services for homeless people in the Manchester area in the decade and a half ,increasing deaths due to drugs and alcohol countered the other health gains.

since I have been keeping track of homeless deaths in there was a total of 187 in 16 years, in the last 2 years heroin overdoses have surpassed that total.

pandhandling on street corners Manchester and Concord

Capital city's renewed panhandling ordinance could be a model for Manchester

By MARK HAYWARD
New Hampshire Union Leader

MANCHESTER — The city of Manchester’s homeless services director this week praised a Concord city ordinance that prohibits roadside panhandlers from accepting anything passed to them from an idling motor vehicle.

Susan Howland said an ordinance like Concord’s 2-year-old measure, which was re-authorized earlier this week, would go a long way toward preventing people from holding signs asking for handouts at busy Manchester intersections.

“I think anything anyone can do to stop it is a good idea,” Howland said. She said panhandlers on street corners make people think that existing programs to help the homeless are not working, and they paint a negative picture of people who actually are homeless.

Cities have grappled with panhandling for years, since courts have ruled that panhandlers have a free-speech right to solicit donations from passersby.

The Concord ordinance doesn’t prohibit anyone from holding a sign. But it prohibits anyone from distributing, receiving or exchanging any item with the occupant of a motor vehicle located in a public roadway.

The ordinance says roadside exchanges are a threat to the free and safe flow of traffic.

Concord City Manager Tom Aspell said the ordinance has cut down on streetside panhandling.

“Once we explain it to people, they get it,” Aspell said. “It seems to be quite effective. Is it perfect? No. But as soon as we send an officer, people disappear.”

Manchester panhandlers are frequently found at several locations, including highway exits at Bridge Street, Second Street and South Willow Street, Howland said.

Howland said police and social workers estimate that nine out of 10 panhandlers use handouts to satisfy a drug or alcohol habit.

On Wednesday, a woman holding a sign at Beech and Bridge streets told a New Hampshire Union Leader photographer that she is not a drug addict. She said she has two children and could be doing worse things.

“I could be stealing,” she said.

Concord passed the ordinance two years ago with a sunset provision. On Monday, the city council unanimously re-authorized it and removed the sunset provision, Aspell said.

Gilles Bissonnette, a staff attorney with the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union, said his organization worked with Concord on the ordinance. The prohibition against roadside exchanges was a compromise.

He said it bans conduct — the exchange of any item — that is not speech.

“At least on the ordinance’s face, there’s less of a First Amendment concern,” he said. But his organization monitors Concord to make sure the ordinance is applied even-handedly and is not used to suppress free speech underhandedly, he said.

Last year, Concord police received 160 calls regarding panhandling; 30 enforcement actions, including citations, were issued based on the panhandling ordinance.

Aspell said the maximum fine is $500, but it would be up to a judge to decide how much to levy. No citations were issued against drivers, only panhandlers.

The ordinance makes an exception for police officers and motorists exchanging information after an accident.

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