AMHERST — When the homeless shelter closed for the season earlier this month, the Amherst Survival Center put out a call for tents and sleeping bags so that homeless people would have some temporary accommodations and refuge from the elements until they could find permanent housing.
But in the weeks since these were distributed, tents pitched on town conservation land and on other public property, including the West Cemetery, have been removed by conservation staff and police officers, with many of these items ending up in trash bins, according to Police Chief Scott Livingstone.
A seemingly growing population of homeless people, and their visibility in downtown and near hiking trails and recreation areas such as Puffer’s Pond, is prompting numerous complaints to the Police Department.
“Our (homeless) calls are increasing, no doubt,” Livingstone said.
Issues came to a head the night of May 20, when police were called to the Kinsey Memorial Garden behind the Jones Library and arrested five homeless people, each on a charge of violating the town’s open container bylaw.
Livingstone said the problem is that some of these individuals are bothering the general public, as well as scaring other homeless people.
Livingstone said while police are enforcing town bylaws and prohibitions against using conservation land for camping, his department recognizes the need to get perspectives from those who are living on the streets and in the woods.
Officer Michael Barone is leading a crisis intervention team doing outreach to homeless people, Livingstone said.
“We’re reaching out to the homeless to develop a rapport with them and so they understand the problems we’re having with them, and the trouble businesspeople and townspeople are having with them,” Livingstone said.
The troubles became a conversation at Town Meeting on Monday during a discussion of preserving the memorial garden and the problems, such as public drinking and urinating, occurring there.
Some Town Meeting members, including Tracylee Boutilier of Precinct 6, argued for a comprehensive approach to addressing homeless issues, noting that removing the garden would not be a solution.
“There are homeless individuals that hang out in front of the Bangs Center, there is (drug) paraphernalia down there, and I don’t hear anyone talking about closing down the Bangs Center,” Boutilier said.
William Laramee, the community liaison officer who normally addressed student behavior issues, is on bike patrol downtown this spring and summer and will be working with businesses to make sure their concerns are dealt with, Livingstone said.
The issue is also at the forefront for Peter Hechenbleikner, the interim town manager.
“Initial discussions need to be done by town government operations and expand from that to the key stakeholders,” Hechenbleikner said.
“We need to figure out what we’re doing for 12 months out of the year,” Hechenbleikner said. The shelter is only available from Nov. 1 through May 1.
This could include cooperation from other communities, as well as social service agencies.
“Amherst shouldn’t be a magnet for homeless, and shouldn’t bear all the responsibilities,” Hechenbleikner said.
Sarah la Cour, executive director of the Amherst Business Improvement District, said she intends to be involved in these conversations when they begin.
Rebekah Wilder, executive director of Craig’s Doors, the agency that oversees the Craig’s Place homeless shelter, said she has been surprised by the number of arrests, which she said is not a good approach.
“It is more than just criminalizing homelessness, it is also perpetuating homelessness,” Wilder said.
Alcohol is a symptom, not a cause, of homelessness, she added.
Livingstone, though, continues to maintain that the shelter’s behavior-based entrance policy, which allows people to come while under the influence of drugs and alcohol, is an issue.
“The wet shelter is a problem, in my opinion,” Livingstone said.
Statistics provided by Wilder show that 73 percent of guests who struggle with alcohol addiction also have mental illness, and 71 percent with drug addictions also have mental illness. Arrests will not solve that, she said.
Livingstone said the complaints about tents came from staff in the conservation department and residents and visitors, including men fishing on the Mill River near Summer Street who alerted police to a a campsite and mess of belongings Wednesday morning.
Wilder said her advice to homeless people who cannot find friends or family to stay with is to not congregate, keep spaces clean and remain hidden, as much as possible, to avoid being close to where people are fishing and swimming.
“Unfortunately, there are no legal locations for people to pitch their tents,” Wilder said.
In fact, the town allows “primitive camping” only by permit in the Podick, Holyoke Range, Lawrence Swamp, and Eastman Brook conservation areas, and even there it is limited to two nights with no open fires. Use of Puffer’s Pond and the area surrounding it is banned after dark.
Wilder hopes that this possible trespassing does not lead to more arrests, observing that jail is not a mental health facility.
“Being able to get someone the help they need is key to ending the cycle of homelessness,” Wilder said.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
