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Residents, volunteers press aldermen to fund resource center and repeal camping ban
Summary
At the June 9 meeting, multiple residents with lived experience and volunteer organizers urged the board to fund a resource center and repeal the city's camping ban, arguing fines and enforcement criminalize poverty; aldermen acknowledged the urgency while citing budget and staffing constraints and HUD funding changes.
Dozens of Nashua residents and volunteers told the Board of Aldermen on June 9 that the city must prioritize shelter and services for people experiencing homelessness and reconsider its camping ban.
Speakers with lived experience and volunteers described enforcement encounters, missing belongings, and the practical barriers to shelter in a tight housing market. "We currently have a huge issue here in our city," Matt, a mutual-aid volunteer, said, urging the board to both fund the proposed resource center and repeal the camping ban. Speakers repeatedly cited a $1,000 fine for camping and the possibility of jail for nonpayment.
Miles Berthiaume (Ward 4) and Kenneth Doucette urged immediate action, describing the ban's effects on neighbors and the shortage of affordable housing. Ralph van Bieber and others described sleeping in cars and tenting, saying fines and clearing operations punished people with no alternatives.
Aldermen responded with a mix of empathy and procedural caution. Alderman Lopez thanked speakers, noted that staffing funding for the resource center had been removed from the proposed budget and urged residents to follow upcoming Human Affairs Committee discussions. Alderman Tebow, who supported the original camping-ban vote for safety reasons, said enforcement was never intended to jail people and reiterated that the resource center was envisioned as a first step.
Several aldermen, including Aldermen Clay and Clemens, described the resource center as a needed but imperfect first step; they warned that a large facility requires staffing and sustainable operating funds. Board members said they will continue committee work with the continuum-of-care and HUD-funded partners and that supplemental appropriations would likely be required if a property is identified.
What happens next: The board scheduled or pointed to committee meetings (Human Affairs Committee June 15 and budget wrap-up sessions) as the venues where funding and operational questions will be addressed. No immediate repeal of the camping ban was enacted during the June 9 meeting.
