Plan to make Manchester’s senior center a warming spot for homeless at night faces pushback
By Arielle Mitropoulos
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MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (WMUR) — Some are pushing back against Manchester’s plan to use the William Cashin Senior Activity Center as a temporary warming center for the homeless.
The city of Manchester announced Wednesday the warming center will be open to homeless populations from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. beginning Friday.
The shelter will be staffed by police and it will not impact senior center hours or activities.
In a letter to the city’s board of mayor and alderman, senior center manager Kimberly Drohan called the move potentially devastating and said she hasn’t been able to sleep at night over the decision.
Manchester Alderman Joe Kelly Levasseur agreed said he’s adamantly against having the warming center at the center.
“I’ve got about seven emails today and about three phone calls from senior citizens who are terrified of going in there because they don’t want these people hanging around here. They’re afraid of them,” Levasseur said. “They’re afraid of possible diseases because not being able to clean, they’re going to be out at seven and those seniors come in and use this property and this building a lot by eight o’clock in the morning.”
While many women News 9 spoke to said they’re fearful of the new warming spot, other regulars say they aren’t against it.
“If these people were unsafe in the cold, would be nice to get them warmed up a bit,” one regular said.
The mayor’s office said that this is a temporary move done in the hope of saving lives, but Lavasseur said this simply isn’t the answer to an ever-growing problem.
“It’s costing us a ton of money,” Lavasseur said. “It is hurting our business. It’s hurting our image. It’s hurting the city’s branding. It is destroying neighborhoods.”
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