At the age of 44 with a long career of bartending behind her, Kelly McAndrew probably didn’t expect to be sleeping under a bridge in a tent in the middle of a global pandemic. Yet, that is the situation in which she finds herself at present. She was evicted from her place of residence in June 2019; she has been homeless since then. Before that, she has been homeless on and off for the last 10 years. The latest episode, for her, has been the most difficult one she has experienced.
Previous to sleeping in a tent beneath the Amoskeag Bridge near Rimmon Heights and Mast Road on the West Side of Manchester, she had been staying at the New Horizons shelter. She left for a few days, as many people do. When she came back, she was first told admittance to the shelter would take place only on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Then she was told the shelter wasn’t accepting anyone at all. No one could get inside the building. Since her mailing address was the shelter itself, she no longer has access to her mail. She has not yet put in her information for a stimulus payment from the IRS, both because she does not have access to a computer and because she does not have a mailbox where she can receive mail.
Since losing her photo ID, she has no way to open a bank account. Without a bank account, she has no way to receive payments from the government. She is not on SSI, SSDI, or TANF.
When she did come back to the shelter asking for a bed, Kelly says she found all of her property had been given away or thrown out. The shelter had made a comprehensive effort to sanitize the entire facility. She was denied access to her regular caseworker, Griffin. When she asked about the mail, she was told she would have to speak with her caseworker. The last communication she had with him was a conversation in which he said he had no idea what she was supposed to do. According to Kelly, he then turned his back and left.
Living in a tent while almost every business is shut down has proved a challenge. Most non-profit services upon which Manchester’s homeless population relied have been closed down. Many food pantries are no longer open. Places such as the 1269 Cafe, where homeless people could have lunch and grab some bread to go, has limited the services they provide. This has led to a series of daily challenges, the biggest of which is food.
People have been, at times, dropping food off now and then. A man named John from the Farnum Center took Kelly and another woman to Market Basket, buying for them anything they might need, she said. Others donate whatever food they may have on hand. Hot meals have been few and far between — an especially difficult problem to deal with during cold days and colder nights.
The people living at Kelly’s encampment, which she calls Camp Live Free, have no space heater, no cooler to store food, and nothing to prepare any food they may have. Recently the city Fire Marshal gave everyone at the camp the okay to use charcoal to start fires. However, as they have none and have no way of acquiring any, it’s a moot point. Kelly must find her own way to stay warm.
While many such items are expensive, she would like to see solar-powered devices provided for communal use. Phones and other electric devices are constantly running out of a charge. Kelly must walk to Dunkin Donuts, a long walk for her, just to recharge her phone. Without her phone, she has no way of asking for help or calling for an ambulance if one is ever needed. No one at the camp knows how long they will be there.
Fortunately, she does have food stamps and Medicaid. She is looking forward to May 5, when the next payment will come through. From where she is, however, there are no grocery stores close to her. The nearest one is Hannaford, some ways down Mast Road near the Goffstown border. As of this writing, no service provides delivery of food with food stamps. Wal-Mart currently offers pickup of orders for 30 or more dollars. However, the location on Gold Street is so far away from Kelly that it might as well be in another state.
The problem is not limited to Kelly’s encampment. Other tents have been popping up here and there, as Manchester’s homeless population increasingly prefers to sleep rough rather than risk their personal health, safety, and personal property at the shelter. Others have been, according to them, treated badly. Still other homeless people have been thrown out of the shelter at the drop of a hat; they perceive the shelter is looking for any excuse to put someone on the street.
Since Kelly has been sleeping outside, no non-profit outreach group has come to visit. FIT’s outreach group has not stopped by – possibly due to an increased workload and increased safety concerns. Mayor Joyce Craig came by in person to see where a shower and a portable restroom might be installed. As of this writing, Kelly does not have access to either of these things. Where homeless people in tents are going to the bathroom is anyone’s guess.
Thus far, her interactions with law enforcement have been positive. Kelly, along with the other people sleeping at the encampment, took it upon themselves to pick up 20 black bags worth of trash. An officer came by with a sanitation truck to take away the trash bags. All the officers who have come to the site have shown their appreciation for this.
Recently, the city council concluded that it can neither relocate nor break up any encampments. They are not legally allowed to forcibly relocate anyone. Homeless people who are forced to go elsewhere may end up spreading the coronavirus somewhere else. For now, such camps are not only being allowed to exist, but supported by official policy.
Contrary to expectations, Kelly is sleeping better in a tent than she ever did at the shelter.
“I slept horribly at the shelter,” she said. “Now that I’m in a tent, I’m sleeping too much. I sleep like a baby. I enjoy the sounds of the river and the birds nearby.”
She keeps a solar-powered spotlight and a lock on her tent’s zipper to keep unwanted people out. Thus far, it’s been a struggle to regulate who comes and who goes. Sometimes, people stop by who are unwelcome. Fortunately, no one has yet disturbed her sleep. In fact, she has grown so close with her follow tent-sleepers that she calls them “bunkies” and “family.”
Currently, the homeless population at Camp Live Free needs more tents (capable of holding 4 to 6 people), solar-powered coolers for food storage, portable electronic chargers, charcoal for food preparation, food itself, and clothing. Many folks, like Kelly, have lost what little they had; now they have nothing left to their name except what they’re carrying on their backs.
Donations can be made under the Amoskeag Bridge on near the Armory and reservoir by Rimmon Heights. A plastic orange cone has been placed to mark off their site.
