The City Who Loved Their Homeless
It had been a year since the great sit down. The homeless, with the help of advocates, staged a sit down on the lawns and sidewalks of the businesses and homes of the mayor and alderman of the City of Manchester NH. Overnight the people involved agreed that nothing would be done to help their (homeless) growing numbers unless they all acted in unison and sat down where it hurt the politicians the most.
On that day, the world watched as peaceful protest in over a hundred spots led the police commissioner to hand the problem over to the mayor at the same time a solution, in writing, was laid down by two lawyers who had enough.
Once, Manchester, NH had been a shining beacon in the world of industrial might when everyone else was working on farms large or small.
The mayor and alderman agreed that it was the visuals of the abject poverty that hurt the city’s and their own image. People could go to restaurants and shows in many parts of their small state and never think twice about the city.
The plan was agreed upon, funded and executed.
Today when I go downtown we have two giant tents, a half acre of covered space that houses our most troubled residents. The city and the police have asked the citizens to refer to them as people. The tests are covered in donated printed vinyl that shows a beautiful river and forest and people working together to help their most helpless.
Within the tents are the tents of the individuals or couples to give them privacy. Like a campground, the lots are marked for two and three person tents. There is no smoking or fires inside of the tent and no electricity except at the recharging centers in one area for phones. Heat is provided by two construction heaters that blow in heat and keep the tents at 65 to 68 degrees.
The military had a lot of temporary structures for water, sewage, showers, laundry and cooking in storage. Even a post office structure was found or rebuilt. Breakfast and dinner are served. Medical help is provided. Phones and internet to communicate.
Now when people come to the city they see Camp Faithful. There is no garbage, no smell. No one is forced to watch re-education videos.
At first the mayors of other cities tried to bus in their homeless but the people were reloaded onto city busses and driven back to their departure points. All the costs of this busing were sent to each city and when payment was refused, the lawsuits began.
The city of Manchester made a fuss on the national stage until legislative measures, state and federal, were put into place, to fine cities one million dollars for every bus load of people with the power to deny the state and federal funding the cities needed until they got the hint and stopped. The cities were not able to just pay the money either. It was a fine big enough to shut their ignorance down.
The plan began to take seed in other places until it grew across the country. Many people of all ages found solace in these centers. They found caring people but mostly they found the time to think about their lives without worrying about food, water, clothing and shelter. Many found their way to helping others, themselves, and found their way out and many died there among caring people who somehow made a difference in the world.
For me, this is like heaven should be. A place, regardless of deed, where people aren’t stressed, ruled, violated, and used as political fodder.
Sadly, at this moment this plan is just a dream, that we will never be a great nation again until we focus on our worst off citizens. My city is spending a lot of time talking and little time doing as the people involved freeze, become deathly ill and cost the hospitals and other facilities millions of dollars per year. They do not see the benefits of spending a 10th of that emergency money yet. They will.
The day when one of our people can come to that tiny village of hope and say, “I need help,” and they are welcomed in, warmed and fed, then the Stars, Earth, God, or Whomever you pray to, will look at humanity as something worth saving.
