Data collection doesn't show accurate picture of homelessness in Belknap, Merrimack counties

FRANKLIN — Community Action Program of Belknap-Merrimack Counties and Boxes of Love for the Homeless, a local nonprofit, organized a memorial service this week for Edward “Eddy” Rayno, who died suddenly last month. Rayno, 60, was experiencing homelessness, and camping near the Winnipesaukee River Trail in Northfield. Freeman Toth, CAP's homeless street outreach manager, thought the service was necessary. 

“It was senseless that he died, [and] we are genuinely worried that his unsheltered friends would not have a proper opportunity to say goodbye and to grieve.”

The remembrance event Monday afternoon was held at Episcopal Mission of Franklin. Rayno's family and friends came to grieve and remember his life. People experiencing homelessness could take necessities like hygiene items, blankets, hand warmers, toilet paper and clothes, as well as various camping equipment including tents and survival gear, provided by Boxes of Love. The nonprofit also gave free haircuts inside the church. Executive Director Stacy Bergeron spoke to the nonprofit's efforts to assist communities. 

“Box of Love for the Homeless is a mobile triage unit. We throw events. We normally have live music, hair stylists,” Bergeron said. “Meals, camping equipment, survival gear, whatever they need. That's what we try to provide.”

Despite all they offer, their efforts are limited.

“We have two employees. We’re a low budget operation, because we put everything into taking care of the people,” Bergeron said.

Rayno's mother, Lorraine Rayno, 88, was surprised to see everyone who came together to remember her son.

“I'm just mightily amazed [by] everything that's happened,” she said.

Mike Fitzpatrick of Franklin, a friend of Eddy’s, met him years ago in Alcoholics Anonymous. He said Eddy was staying with him on and off for about a year, but Fitzpatrick asked him to leave after disagreements with others living in the house. Fitzpatrick is still brought to tears over losing his friend after making that tough decision.

“It was a little personal for me,” Fitzpatrick said.

Freeman thinks Eddy’s death follows a trend for unsheltered people this time of year. While it gets coldest during the winter, early spring can still be cold, especially at night. And most cold weather shelters close on April 1. Laconia's does, in compliance with a city ordinance which follows guidance from the state Department of Health and Human Services.

“New England is not forgiving in the sense of weather, and it's not the climate you want to exist outdoors in,” Freeman said. “I don't care if it's the summer or the winter. It's cruel and unusual punishment to expect a person to live outside.”

April French is currently experiencing homelessness, and came to the church Monday to get supplies. She attested to the struggles of being unhoused.

“Every day is a struggle. You really have to put all your energy into getting through that day, you can't even think about the next day,” she said.

Freeman encouraged the City of Franklin to establish a local and walkable cold weather shelter.

“Give me four walls, a roof and some cots and some heat, you can even keep the heat as long as I've got four walls and a roof,” he said. “It's a survival level event. We are killing people by not having a solid plan.”

The city welfare office can help people find cold weather sheltering services. Temporary warming centers have opened in the past, and Franklin police perform proactive searches during cold weather snaps to find anyone in need of shelter. Unhoused people are also encouraged to call 211.

But Freeman suggested these options are not enough, and said data like the Point-in-Time Count, an annual survey of homeless people conducted by local agencies on behalf of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, is partly to blame. He and other outreach workers are responsible for the PIT Count in Belknap and Merrimack counties, and he said numbers are not entirely accurate.

The 2024 PIT Count shows 131 unsheltered people in Merrimack County, and 51 in Belknap. The number of people enrolled in the CAP street outreach program is about 400, and of those, about 291 are considered unsheltered. The PIT Count is done in the third week of January each year. Conducting the census during one of the coldest months of the year makes it hard to count people who may have found temporary stays through couch surfing or other alternative means.

“It sets our policy makers up for failure, because they're making decisions based on bad data,” Freeman said. “Any other business in the world would conduct these counts quarterly, and the data would never stop being collected.”

Eddy was in the over 55 age demographic, which Freeman said is the fastest growing group of people experiencing homelessness. Asheena Miller, street outreach housing specialist with CAP, spoke to the challenges meeting that population's needs.

“That's a hard demographic for us to serve,” she said. “Seniors with a lot of medical vulnerabilities can't go into shelters.”

Ultimately, Freeman thinks the service is a good way to serve the community by partnering with Boxes of Loves, and it was a good way to remember Eddy.

“It's not just about necessities. It's about making a person feel like a person again,” he said. “And that's why we're really proud to work with them today, and proud to do this for our friend that we lost.”