MANCHESTER, NH – Many issues at the homeless shelter, raised in an unsigned public statement from the homeless community and their advocates to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen (BOA) earlier this month, have been addressed, according to a response from Families in Transition, which operates the 199 Manchester St. shelter.
Maria Devlin, president & CEO, and Scott Ellison, board chair, in their letter to the BOA dated Oct. 26, 2021, said they “vehemently deny the accusation of ‘inhumane treatment of shelter residents’ or ‘abuses or ‘institutionalized torture’ as was levied in the letter.”
Devlin and Ellison also said they were alarmed in the wording in the letter that called for the use of “force” to carry out the demands. The letter was later amended to encourage everyone to act peacefully.
Devlin and Ellison said they will not consider removing current FIT management. They said the shelter management team does an “outstanding job with tireless efforts against many challenges and the additional difficulty of a persistent pandemic to provide care to many people who would otherwise have few other options for basic safety and security and shelter.”
The letter relayed complaints about only one shower being available for men; no storage for their belongings; the refusal to refrigerate medication; a bed bug infestation; a lift that is broken preventing the disabled from reaching dorm rooms on upper floors; the lack of blankets and towels; no secure storage for residents’ belongings, among others.
Pat Long, Ward 3 alderman, said he is sure FIT “wants to do what’s right. The bottom line is, we shut them down, what then? Instead of attacking them, we need to say what can we do to help.”
He said he expects to see complaints, given the hundreds of people who go through there. “I want to hear the complaints and I want to address them but when I look at the whole picture, it’s a better picture than these complaints are about, in my opinion.”
As of Wednesday, two showers were working, a refrigerator was provided to store medication, and blankets and towels are plentiful, according to Tricia McQuaid, a disabled woman staying at the shelter. The lift, she said, is still broken and she is still sleeping in the dining area because she has no way to get upstairs to the women’s dorms.
Devlin and Ellison addressed that issue in their response. They said the building was never designed as a 24/7 shelter housing 138 people. The stairlift in the building is old and often broken down for a variety of reasons. The company that originally installed it and fixes it, has suffered its own recent “pandemic-related” challenges in obtaining parts needed to make it operational again.
They said FIT will work with guests to ensure they have suitable beds in areas of the shelter that are accessible. The same is true for the availability of showers, one will be provided even if it needs to be through a partner agency or through a facility of its own.
They said pests at the shelter can be a problem and to combat it, FIT works with a pest mitigation company on a regular basis. Treatments are done based on the company’s recommendations. Inspections are now done weekly and the cause of the pests was pinpointed to items and food which are brought into the shelter by guests. As a result, new rules and policies are being instituted around food and items allowed into the shelter. This year alone, FIT says it will spend about $10,000 on pest remediation at the shelter.
Since 2018, FIT has invested close to $1 million into the building, including new dorm space for men that was previously the pantry. FIT recently received funding for lockers for storage which will be installed soon. The lockers cost more than $45,000.
Another main issue among the homeless is the shelter’s rules, particularly when it comes to check-in and wake-up times.
“Families in Transition attempted to provide more flexibility around check-in times. Based on the challenges that created, we feel strongly that our current rules serve our shelter guests and staff best. We have discussed hours of operation with other adult shelters across New England and we are closely aligned with the best practices of many like-sized shelters. These shelter rules also ensure that our business operates consistently and that our staff and participants have a predictable routine. This is essential for the overall manageability and safety of our shelter and those who choose to stay with us.”
Brandon Lemay, a housing advocate who serves as a liaison between FIT and the homeless community, said that he personally believes that that is the problem with shelters.
“The way they are designed to operate is flawed and inhumane,” he said. “It reminds me of when my mother would tell me ‘if all of our friends jumped off a bridge would you, too?’ And I can assure that their current rules do not “serve their shelter guests and staff best.” He said their inability to retain staff and keep shelter residents happy “is proof that this statement is wrong.”
Kyle Chumas, FIT director of marketing and communications, said the shelter tries to be flexible. Individuals can check in any time after the 7 p.m. deadline if they have never stayed at the shelter before and if a bed is available. He said those who provide documented employment showing their work hours are beyond the 7 p.m. deadline are given “late passes” allowing them to check-in after the deadline.
He believes the policies were put in place because of the challenge of managing 138 people using the shelter.
Chumas also said those working on second-shift, arriving at the shelter late at night, are allowed to sleep in until 11 a.m. Normally, he said, those in the dorm rooms are wakened at 6 a.m. They can sleep in until 7 a.m. or opt to shower and go down to breakfast which is served between 6:30 and 7:30 a.m.
He said when someone enters the shelter, they are assigned a bed and have 24-hour access to the shelter. To retain that bed (except those with late passes) they must check-in between 6 and 7 p.m. the next day.
Those staying at the shelter do not have to leave each day, he said, although many do, either to go to work or for other reasons.
