Police And DPW Offer Bins To People Outside The Shelter And Assist In the Clean-Up Of the Sidewalk

The city of Manchester continues to work to find a solution to the growing homeless population and balance it with health, safety, and nearby businesses.

After passing several ordinances restricting people from staying in parks after dusk, many people moved to nearby sidewalks. After additional ordinances were passed prohibiting tarps, umbrellas, wheeled devices, and the building of make-shift shelters the individuals moved to the sidewalk outside of the Families In Transition shelter at Pine and Manchester Street.

The shelter sidewalk has become a point of controversy between the shelter, the city, and businesses including a neighboring daycare. Police have spent additional time in the area making sure the area stays as safe as possible.

Thursday a contingency of DPW workers, Park Rangers, and Manchester Police officers came to the area and shut down the street. DPW provided access to lockable bins that people can fill with personal belongings they want to be stored over the winter months. DPW workers also brought dump trucks to the area so that individuals could dispose of items they no longer wanted.

Dennis an individual living on the sidewalk has a knack for collecting bicycles and repairing them. He shared his knowledge of many of the bikes including make, model, and years they were manufactured. He said his goal has been to sell bicycles, but the police challenged him with the number of bicycles he can store on the sidewalk. Officers had a list of bicycles that have been reported stolen and searched through the bicycles to see if any could be reunited with their owners, but there was little success. Dennis threw some of the parts for the bicycles he had gathered into the dump truck.

Most nights the shelter is full to capacity which forces some people to remain outside. Also, some of the people living on the sidewalk have been forbidden to enter the shelter for various reasons or choose not to go inside. A nearby warming shelter is opened when temperatures fall but it provides limited services and is also full to capacity when the cold weather or inclement weather moves in.

©Jeffrey Hastings www.frameofmindphoto.com/news.