Recently, we put a post on our Facebook page soliciting information on the locations of homeless encampments in the City of Manchester and surrounding areas. This post generated some concern that sharing such information with us on a public forum such as Facebook might tip off the police as to the whereabouts of camps and prompt them to go and break them up.
While we appreciate peoples’ concerns for the unhoused homeless, after having spent eight years of doing outreach, we know that such concerns as those expressed above are unfounded.
We understand the role that our police play in protecting the public and in enforcing the law. We also know that they are constantly on patrol in their assigned areas and know where encampments are located well before we do. It’s their job to know this, and, in fact, we’ve even had them tell us where the camps are.
Most (not all) of the police that we’ve had contact with are professionals and respect the dignity of the unhoused homeless. Further, they don’t deliberately ‘break up camps’ unless they are on people’s property and are causing damage, or are trespassing, and then do so only after people refuse to leave.
As for us, we understand that our police have a job to do, and that protecting private property and the citizenry is their chief responsibility. They are out there upholding the law, and we appreciate it.