Harrison Thorp 1:22 p.m.
Monday, November 8, 2021 1:21 pm
|
SOMERSWORTH - By noon today all but one of those who had been living at a Somersworth homeless encampment had voluntarily left, Somersworth Police said.
The encampment, adjacent to the Willand Pond Recreation Area on Route 108, comprised a roughly 100-acre privately owned property on which up to around 100 individuals lived in tents, cars or makeshift shelters since 2018, said Somersworth Capt. Timothy McLin, who oversaw today's takedown of all temporary structures.
 |
| Somersworth Police move in to inspect a trailer just steps from an abandoned vehicle today at a homeless encampment near Willand Pond in Somersworth. |
When five three-man teams of police entered the area to begin their work this morning around 9:30 they found the encampment mostly deserted as local news outlets had reported the event in advance and area nonprofits had been outreaching those who were to be affected for the past month.
McLin said police had also been talking to the encampment's inhabitants for the past month in an effort to help them with the transition, which became necessary after the city was notified by the property owner's attorney on Oct. 8 that their client wanted the area cleared.
 |
| Michael Gray of Wilmington, Mass., who often volunteers to help addicts along the Methadone Mile in the Roxbury-South End-Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, points to one of the countless Narcan containers strewn all over the Willand Pond encampment. Gray was one of many volunteers looking to do outreach during today's removal process by Somersworth Police. |
"The last thing we wanted to do today was make an arrest," McLin told The Rochester Voice, adding police found just a dozen individuals on the property who all left peacefully.
One additional homeless person was waiting for someone to help him move his property, which someone had already volunteered to do, McLin added.
All of those who want will be triaged at the Willand Drive warming center where volunteers and nonprofits will try to help them find temporary accommodations.
SOS volunteers were also at the encampment today doing outreach for those still there. Community Action Partners is also taking an active role in today's transition process.
 |
| Somersworth Police take down one of many tents and makeshift shelters that were still standing today at the Willand Pond homeless encampment in Somersworth. |
McLin estimated up to 100 people had been living at the encampment since 2018 and that the size really mushroomed during the COVID pandemic.
He said now that the tents are taken down, he expects the city will work with the owner to help mitigate the hazards still present at the site, where huge mounds of trash and garbage can be seen everywhere and open sewage reeks in several areas.
McLin said he was pleased with today's outcome and glad that it went peacefully.
"I hope the people afford themselves of recovery options for substance use disorder," he said. "This has happened throughout COVID and it's a situation you can't arrest your way out of. Our approach is the more we steer into recovery the more we can add to the recovery."