Latest homelessness forum focuses on perspective of business owners

LACONIA — A forum for business owners last Tuesday brought strong engagement, and sharp focus to the issue of homelessness in the city's downtown.

The forum was the most recent in a series of public meetings in each ward over the last few months. This is a new approach for the city, and the sessions invited the public to share their solutions to the crisis, as well as get educated on the causes behind homelessness in the Lakes Region.

While the community forums were informative and managed to collect some data, organizers admitted the public’s attendance was lacking. That wasn’t the case for last week’s forum, which gathered input from business owners.

“Turnout was great,” said Margaret Franckhauser, director of aging services with JSI, the consulting firm collecting data for the forums. “There were over 50 people. I suspect it was high because business owners are so invested in this. I think the engagement from the group was great.”

Over 30 businesses and local organizations had representatives at the forum.

Det. Eric Adams of the Laconia Police Department was also encouraged by the level of engagement seen from local business owners.

“There was a really good turnout and there were a lot of different conversations that took place,” Adams recalled. “There were a lot of similarities with the other forums, which I thought was really good because it just shows that business owners have the same mindset as regular citizens."

At the forum, business owners expressed concerns for the safety of employees, customers and their property, as well as frustration with enforcement.

“There was a clear admission from people that at one time they were sympathetic and now their sympathy has been exhausted by some people who are unhoused,” Franckhauser said.

For Reuben Bassett, co-owner of Wayfarer Coffee Roasters and owner of the restaurants Burrito Me and Local Eatery, his primary concern was the safety of his employees.

“I can see situations where I'm nervous for employees of mine. There's definitely some aggressive members of the unhoused population,” Bassett said. “Our second priority is customer experience and the well-being of everyone else. There’s a lot of [unhoused people] that aren’t an issue, it’s those few that can cause issues that are a concern.”

“There is this population that wants to be left alone in the sense they don't want housing or they enjoy their freedom and it can feel restraining if they are housed,” explained Adams. “Probably about 25% really just want to be left alone, go about their day and not have to be bothered by having an apartment, or following rules that go along with housing.”

“We have had stuff stolen before. We've had heaters that weren't locked up properly that they utilize and break, tables getting moved, most isn't a huge issue,” Bassett said of his businesses, “but every once in a while there are things that are taken if we're not careful.”

In addition to theft, Adams said there was a general concern of a lack of respect for local businesses.

“If they defecate or something like that in the doorway or break property, that is disrespectful to the business owners that work really hard,” Adams said. “It's their life's work, and so that was one of the frustrations. I think making sure [business owners] are heard is a huge component as well.”

Despite the frustration expressed by business owners, Frankhauser noted some nuance in attendee understanding.

“There was clear recognition that there isn't homogeneity among the homeless,” Frankhauser said. ”The important point was they recognized that there are different groups and different groups need different approaches.”

“You see people struggling to have a job, getting evicted, that is not the type of population causing problems downtown,” Bassett said. “Once they're downtown, they’re the type who’s probably been unhoused a long time. They probably don't have friends or that support system anymore.”

Like the forums before it, organizers sought to educate and dispel certain myths. Namely the idea that people experiencing homelessness are being dropped off in Laconia by bus.

“We've seen a significant increase" in the core group population, Bassett said. “I guess it depends on what that's coming from, there’s rumors of towns in the area bringing them here. I haven't seen evidence of that. It would be a big concern if that were true.”

Adams explained that there is a bus service that offers round trips to Concord for people in Laconia for doctor visits and other services. After completing their appointments, the bus drops people back off in town, but does not bring additional passengers to Laconia. That was done by police officers from other communities, according to Adams.

“We did have a few police departments that transported people down to Laconia and dropped them off,” Adams said, adding that Laconia had worked with those police departments to “rectify” the problem. Part of that solution is having officers determine the identity of people they pick up. “We're asking these four basic questions that help us,” Adams said. “We can't have police departments dropping people off unless it's the hospital for an emergency.” Even then, Adams added, those departments should do a follow-up.

“The four questions [Laconia police officers] need to ask are, ‘How long have you been in Laconia? How did you get here? Where did you come from? Are you connected to any services right now?' Those four questions give us an ability for an officer to look into if they're being shipped here.”

The next step for the city is a final forum at Isaiah 61 Cafe, which will focus on the unhoused perspective. The date of this forum has yet to be determined.

Isaiah 61 was approved last year to operate a temporary cold-weather, low barrier shelter, the first of its kind in Laconia. Before that, the cafe acted as food pantry, laundry station and respite for anyone struggling. While many in the community, including Bassett, have praised the cafe’s work, there are concerns that its presence might also contribute to higher unhoused traffic downtown.

“I think they're doing really important good work, but inevitably the draw they're having, because it's needed, their location is causing a lot of access on the WOW Trail,” Bassett said, adding that he did not want to seem disparaging of the organization.

After the final forum, JSI will complete a docket of reports, working with the mayor’s Homelessness Task Force to present data collected at each of the meetings, and to analyze the proposed solutions.

“I think that there's a good group of people trying to address the issue,” Bassett said. “It's a pretty complex issue. I think the portion of unhoused people that are of a concern to downtown is actually a pretty small percentage, but it's a pretty important piece. The solution for that is not easy to come by.”