TEAM CONNECTED on: “God Pods” For HOUSLESSNESS in the news in the Lakes Region | & Other Temporary Shelter Solutions to Evictions | Wearable Insulated Shelters and Rapid Deployment Shelters | WHY NOT?

In the News in the Lakes Region, The Laconia Daily Sun recently reported (Aug. 2025) on meetings between the HOMELESS SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE LACONIA HUMAN RELATIONS COMMITTEE and certain residents presenting the concept of: “God Pods” for HOUSELESSNESS.

New Hampshire counties and cities are looking for solutions for HOUSELESS shelters. And “God Pods” is one. And some other far less expensive temporary, insulated shelters (for winter months) are presented in this Blog Post below — after a discussion of a trend of evictions of the HOUSELESS in Manchester and Concord during the past two years. WHY? Evictions lead to a self-evident need for temporary shelters; being a challenge for many municipalities which face a lack of inventory of temporary and permanent housing solutions.

For Minutes (2 pg. PDF) of one meeting on August 8, 2025 CLICK HERE.

And HOUSELESSNESS was again in the news in The Daily Sun on August 27, 2025:

A TREND of NH Municipality Displacements by Evictions Create a Need of Temporary Shelters and = a Trend of Migrations to the Lakes Region. WHY?

CONSIDER RECENT NEWS IN MANCHESTER AND CONCORD

WMUR reports: https://www.wmur.com/article/new-data-progress-manchester-homelessness/62178212

MANCHESTER, N.H. — New data shows an increase in arrests and improvements in housing and employment opportunities for the homeless population since Manchester launched new initiatives. While the city is pleased with the results, homelessness advocates are not impressed. One initiative includes increasing law enforcement presence in hotspot areas.

Since July, 95 people have been arrested and more than 300 citations have been issued. “I don’t think that the city is any safer for having arrested those people,” said homelessness advocate Dam Wright. …” LINK TO ARTICLE.

LINK TO WMUR REPORT AND VIDEO.

With Costly Evictions … Then Fines … Then Costly Lawsuits Against City Enforcements Always Follow:

ANOTHER LINK TO A WMUR REPORT AND VIDEO.

LINKS TO EACH WMUR REPORT AND VIDEOS:

ACLU LAWSUIT REGARDING EVICTIONS IN MANCHESTER (PDF):

The lawsuit was preceded by a letter [Tuesday, January 17, 2023] from the ACLU and others to Manchester; reported by the ACLU in a news release::

MANCHESTER, N.H. – The ACLU of New Hampshire, joined by eight other advocates and groups, today sent a letter to the City of Manchester asking that they postpone the planned eviction of unhoused individuals at the encampment at Pine and Manchester Streets. The encampment, which may contain up to 50 people, received notice from the city that it must be fully vacated by midnight on Tuesday, January 17—immediately following the evening of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.

In the letter, the groups explain how the eviction and its scope are likely unlawful and additionally raise several human rights concerns—foremost, that the proposed eviction is inhumane, especially given the admitted lack of sustainable and permanent options for the unhoused community in the coldest months of the year.

The letter states, “Given the absence of such a plan to immediately house and relocate these individuals in a sustainable and humane way, we hope that the City will postpone this eviction—an eviction that will only perpetuate a costly cycle of “chasing” the houseless from place to place, and will only further ostracize, stigmatize, and endanger the safety of this community. Given the imminence of the eviction at midnight when Tuesday, January 17, 2023 begins, we ask for a commitment to postpone this eviction by Friday, January 13 at 10:00 a.m., which would allow us to seek judicial relief if appropriate.”

In addition to the ACLU of New Hampshire, the following people and organizations signed onto the letter:

Stephen Tower, Esq., Staff Attorney, New Hampshire Legal Assistance
Lily Milwit, Esq., National Homelessness Law Center
Brandon Lemay, Housing Justice Organizer, Rights & Democracy N.H.
N.H Harm Reduction Coalition
Maggie Fogarty, NH Program Director, American Friends Service Committee
Grace Kindeke, NH Program Coordinator, American Friends Service Committee
Viola Katusiime, Deputy Director, Granite State Organizing Project
Dam Wright, Advocate

Concord NH in the News:

CONCORD, NH — It took a few years of chaos and crime, but the city of Concord is finally cleaning up and clearing out two massive homeless encampments in the southeastern side of the city.

This week, [August 2025] Trauma 24, the contracting company responsible for cleaning up the homeless camps on Storrs Street and Sexton Avenue, has been cleaning up William Healy Memorial Park. The park, which has been closed to the public for years, has been the site of several shootings, a machete attack, and other violence, fires, and stranded campers who needed to be rescued due to the flooding of the Merrimack River, as well as homeless camping debris, pollution, and who knows what else, flowing into the river.

Concord Police Chief Garrett Moulton said the team prepped on Monday, bringing dumpsters, and began clearing out and cleaning the park afterward. Homeless campers, he said, were given notice in July of the impending cleanup starting the first week of August, so they could remove their belongings. Anything left, the notices said, would be considered abandoned property and subject to disposal. LINK TO ARTICLE.

The Debates continue in the Lakes Region.

Is temporary shelter a Hand up or Hand out?
Will Temporary Shelter result in a Magnet effect Causing more migration of HOUSELESS people and families to the Lakes Region?
Does the Lakes Region have sufficient inventory of housing and other resources to meet the demand for existing and increased temporary housing for HOUSELESS people
… And WHY? … should Laconia develop a HOUSELESSNESS policy toward this exponentially growing challenge being faced by municipalities throughout America?

It’s that last Question of WHY? — Which is Most Discussed and Debated.

From a purely fiscal responsibility and accountability perspective those engaged in those debates across America focus on costs, NOT ENOUGH resources, NOT ENOUGH human resources, and NOT ENOUGH vacant, low cost land, etc. In a previous TEAM CONNECTED BLOG POST this NOT ENOUGH questions was addressed in more detail. See: “Is There Really NOT ENOUGH in the Lakes Region? | For the Houseless?” LINK TO PREVIOUS POST.

Adopting a different Connected Worldview (ie., there IS ENOUGH) contrasted with a Separation Worldview (i.e., NOT ENOUGH) (discussed also in previous blog posts), I would submit readers devote contemplative thought to this truth — which may have been spoken for such a time as now.

The Sheep and the Goats

31 When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep on His right and the goats on His left.

34 Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in, 36 I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you visited Me.’

37 Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 When did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?’

40 And the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’

41 Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, I was naked and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after Me.’

44 And they too will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’

45 Then the King will answer, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’

46 And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” [Matt. 25. 31-46, BRB]; and then this …

13 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter.c

15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You traverse land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of helld as you are. [Matt. 23.45-46, BRB]

Alternative Temporary Shelters for HOUSELESS people and their families

WHY?

One time, non-recurring, and lower cost to MUNICIPALITY than providing monthly “temporary lodging” in a motels in the Lakes Region;
Safety for winter | Insulated;
Possible to electronically track via phones of HOMELESS to prevent theft of shelters — AND geofencing tracking for emergency calls from HOUSELESS.