The potential construction of a shelter for single, homeless adults in the Upper Valley is in jeopardy due to threats from local residents who say they fear an influx of "undesirable" people. The proposal for the new shelter, which was drafted by The Upper Valley Haven, a Vermont-based homeless shelter, will go before the zoning board on Feb. 20.
The Haven currently plans to build the shelter adjacent to its family shelter on Hartford Ave., in White River Junction, VT. But many inhabitants of Demers Avenue, located a block away from the potential site, have signed a petition opposing the Haven's proposal.
"I don't know what type of people that would be coming there," Pauline McCarthy, a resident of Demers Ave., said. "I think that's what it bears on -- the class of people that they'd be getting."
Residents who live near the proposed site are concerned about the effects the shelter will have on the community.
"We may just be setting ourselves up for problems," said neighbor George Grigel, who opposes the planned construction. "We already have the Haven. We have a crematorium at the other end of the street. I think we've done our part."
Nancy Vogele '85, a supporter of the project and rector at St. Paul's Episcopal Church which is located next door to the proposed new shelter, said she believes opposition stems from a fear of the unknown rather than from legitimate security concerns.
"It's a hypothetical guy who is going to come and be turned away, and where is he going to go?" Vogele said. "Is he going to go into our neighborhood and sleep on our back porch? We don't have concerns about that because Haven has always run their shelters well. We have no indication that all of the sudden they're not going to do that."
Ben Renda Tu'08 and Andrew Bunton Tu'09, who serve on Haven's Board of Directors through the Tuck School of Business' Allwin Initiative for Corporate Citizenship, said the Haven has taken all necessary precautions, including speaking with local police.
Because the shelter would be exempt from paying taxes, some residents said they are concerned their own taxes would increase if the shelter was built in the area. Taxes are already expected to increase after the planned addition of a tax-free hockey rink and swimming facility in downtown White River Junction.
"I think they're using the tax issue as something to stir up more problems and get the proposal denied," saidSteve Duclos, a supporter of the project and a resident of White River Junction.
Duclos cited a local laundromat, which he said is frequented by drug and alcohol abusers, as a more pertinent town issue than the proposed shelter.
"I don't see this as a safety issue, I see a NIMBY issue -- Not In My Back Yard," Duclos said. "Every one of them has said, 'I support the homeless people. I have nothing against them, but I don't want them in my backyard.' I don't expect there to be major issues, and if there are, [Haven is] going to either address them or shut it down."
Renda said the objective of the Haven in building the new project is positive.
"It's just nice people doing nice things. It's hard to go wrong with a situation like that, and at the Upper Valley Haven, the people who work there and who are there are extremely compassionate," Renda said. "Serving the homeless families and people to give them a warm place and hopefully a leg up -- pull them up by their bootstraps so they can continue to be a productive member of society."
Over the course of the past two years, the Haven has considered a number of potential locations for its new shelter, all of which have been opposed by community members. A proposal to build the shelter in Lebanon, for example, failed by a 3-2 vote from the town's zoning board. In addition, the Parent Teacher's Association of an Upper Valley elementary school contested the construction of the shelter at a location close to the school, Tom Ketteridge, the Haven's executive director, said.
In total, the Haven has considered approximately 20 locations for its new shelter, the organization's development director, Sarah Sennott, said. Key factors include proximity to Advanced Transit public transportation, jobs, health and substance abuse programs and government services.
The Haven currently houses eight homeless families and provides food, clothing and free showers for other homeless individuals. The Haven housed families and adults without children until 2000, when the center began offering housing only to families to maximize the number of potential inhabitants. The new shelter will be funded by a grant from Mark and Rebecca Byrne. The Haven hopes to open the new shelter by the end of the year.
