BRATTLEBORO — The Groundworks Collaborative's vision of a homeless shelter and a suite of services at 39 Frost St. has been a hot topic, but the whole story is even hotter and has been mostly overlooked.
The project is not yet final, and neighbors of the proposed site have serious concerns.
There has been rare mention of the neighborhood, the flesh-and-blood people who would be living next door or nearby, nor the fact that the project depends in part on their silence, approval, or disapproval at public hearings. Although the total project is not yet permitted or funded, I regularly hear neighbors resignedly say, “Oh, it's all set, a done deal.” Their due process has been obscured.
Has a reporter already asked, “How would your lives be changed by living next to the proposed shelters and food shelf?” Knocking on a 92-year-old abutter's door could have opened the way for an interested journalist, as would have a visit to any of the 11 immediately surrounding homes or a call to the Frost-Elliot-Elm-Triangle Neighbors (F.E.E.T.) neighborhood group, to learn about the meeting where 20 people discussed serious concerns that are confirmed by police reports.
In 18 months, 160 police incidents have taken place at all hours of the day and night at the current locations of the food shelf, drop-in center, and overflow shelter (100 of which were at the overflow shelter).
This is in addition to routine visits by police and the incidents that have gone unreported, as well as the known drug trade. That is too many additional sirens, speeding police cars, and drama for a residential neighborhood.
The 160 reported incidents since January 2015 include:
• Animal problems
• Assaults
• Citizen disputes
• Disorderly conduct
• Intoxication
• Lockouts
• Medical emergencies
• Motor vehicle accidents
• Overdoses
• Restraining orders
• Stalking
• Suicide attempts
• Theft
• Threats
• Trespassing
• Suspicious behavior
• Wanted people
Children, families, women walking alone, and other neighbors would likely witness or become involved in a variety of disturbing behaviors and police interventions. I would hesitate to send my family walking down that road. I would walk alone less often after 5 p.m. While inside or outside our home, we would hear more frequent sirens and other sounds of distress. Our lives would change.
Why would such a dramatic change ever be considered for this major thoroughfare that connects the families of Frost Street to the necessary downtown services? I do not know, but it has come too close to happening without hearing from the people who live here.
My sincere hope is that the easy enthusiasm for the proposed project does not overshadow the harder questions. At this stage in the game, it's not a done deal; as is, it's a bad deal.
With enough informed voices throughout the process, I believe we can make it better either by setting conditions for significantly reducing and managing the risks more effectively or locating the shelters in a more appropriate area.