Temporary cold-weather shelter ready, but needs insurance in order to open

LACONIA — St. Joseph’s Church, a well-loved landmark across the from the downtown post office, was ready to open as a temporary overnight shelter, with 15 beds for the city’s homeless on the coldest nights, before the project was stalled Monday because of a lack of insurance coverage.

The church building, which remains open during the day for prayers and masses at Christmas and Easter, was approved yesterday by the Laconia Fire Department for on-and-off use as an emergency overnight-only shelter for this winter. 

But the project will need to become a nonprofit business entity first, said Daisy Pierce, executive director of Navigating Recovery in Laconia, who led the all-volunteer effort through a committee of the Mayor's Homelessness Task Force.

"The plan was to have a low-barrier cold weather shelter, which means people who have recently used drugs or alcohol would be welcome to stay," Pierce said. "We will continue to work towards this goal, but for the time being we do not have plans to open soon. People with big hearts need liability insurance, too."

The announcement came after consulting other shelter providers and local insurance agents, Pierce said. The building, which is part of St. Andre Bessette Parish in Laconia, is owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester, which ultimately controls how the building is used now and in the future. With the parish's blessing it was slated to open Monday, and nightly from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. during extreme weather and snowstorms, with cots set up in the aisles between rows of pews, said Father Marc Drouin, head of the parish.

“Grassroots volunteer efforts are fantastic, but you can only get so far until you’re an official organization,” said Pierce, who had hoped, along with other community leaders, that the temporary shelter could open immediately for the remaining frigid nights of winter. It's too early to tell when the essential business requirements, including insurance coverage, will be met.

St. Joseph’s is the latest piece in a long-term puzzle of how to meet the needs of local people who lack housing, including the chronically homeless – a population crunched by lack of affordable housing and a shortage of space in existing shelters, including the Salvation Army’s Carey House and Belknap House. Space has tightened further because of social distancing requirements during the pandemic.

The temporary solution of St. Joseph’s was offered by Drouin, and would have been a bridge to a something permanent serving homeless people with mental illness and ongoing substance misuse issues, who are often excluded from other options.

“This was certainly a need identified by the city. Just getting them warm so they’re not in danger of dying from extreme cold," said Mayor Andrew Hosmer.

The need for a permanent, low-barrier, cold-weather emergency shelter remains. “How this comes about we don’t know. It’s certainly something that should be considered,” Drouin said.

The parish is currently trying to find a longer-term role for St. Joseph’s Church, which will have to be approved by the bishop. In the meantime, use as an overnight shelter falls within the church’s purpose, Drouin said. “First and foremost, it’s the Gospel mission, caring for those in need.”  St. Joseph’s on Church Street is “a practical downtown location where most people already congregate,” within a short walk of Isaiah 61 Café on New Salem Street, where many homeless people go for meals, Drouin said.

“People’s interest locally in preserving this church is substantial,” said Hosmer. Many have made substantial contributions to a fund that will become an endowment to pay for the church’s yearly upkeep.

In a relatively short amount of time, volunteers stepped up to take overnight shifts while the building serves as a temporary shelter, Hosmer said. “It’s a thing of beauty when this community comes together to support something it believes in. It makes us not just a city, but a community.”