Hillary Seeger: 'God pods' are a bad idea for Laconia and Lakes Region

To The Daily Sun,

I grew up in Laconia and still work in Laconia, so even though I don't live here, I have an attachment and a love for this community.

The "God pods" idea is a bad one and will only serve to roll out the red carpet for more homeless individuals to relocate to Laconia. Contrary to information being disseminated, 70% to 80% of the people currently homeless have active substance abuse issues. Meth and fentanyl are dominant and account for 90% of those using. This data is derived from the Lakes Region Homeless Outreach and the Laconia Police Department Community Response Outreach.

It is a federal crime to just possess meth. Fentanyl is a Schedule 2 controlled substance and it is also illegal to possess under federal law without a valid prescription. Those two statistics completely refute any claims that the homeless population has "few" criminals. The majority of them are criminals and federal ones at that. Where are they going to get the money for a monthly fee? How will accountability and curfew be enforced? Inspections of living space and drug screenings may violate the Fourth Amendment. As of the 2024 Point-in-Time count, 11% of the homeless population are families and this includes those who are not "street homeless." They are couch surfing, in motels or in shelters.

Look, the fact is that setting up more comfortable camps is only going to exacerbate not only the homeless issue but the drug issue. Our children who have not been affected by this deserve to have a clean, safe community to grow in. Our children who are affected by this need interference and treatment. They do not need to be given free needles while living in a shed.

Hillary Seeger

Alexandria