James Osborne Looks at a Newspaper this Afternoon Behind Trader Joe’s.

The Site of a Past Sturbridge Furniture Factory is Expected to House Immigrants this Summer.

The Tent Village is Clearly a Health Hazard, But The Homeless Have no Where to ‘go Following its Removal, Whenever That Occurs.  By the End of May?

“If there were more drug treatment facilities in Maine, there would be far fewer people living here,” said Mike this afternoon.  “With all the rain we had here yesterday, this was like lakefront property,” he joked.  Mike is a homeless occupant of the tent village behind Trader Joe’s on the Bayside Trail that has received multiple city warnings to vacate the property followed by multiple time extentions to remain on the city property – over and over – with head spinning regularity. The sun was shining brightly today following a full day and night of rain.  Many of the homeless were emerging from their rain drenched tents to soak up  the much needed sunshine

“We’ve been given another extension to stay here.  We have 30 more days to stay here,” said James Osborne, one of the homeless pleased to be sitting outside his tent enjoying the sunshine. “After that we don’t know what to expect.”  A manager at Trader Joe’s told this blogger she was told the homeless would be off the Bayside Trail behind the store by the end of May.

Late last week the city spokeswoman Jessica Grondin emailed this blogger a terse comment:  “Yes, there’s an HHS committee meeting scheduled for May 2.”

Another occupant of the tent village told this blogger today that we are all waiting to see what happens following the city meeting tomorrow.  “We are humans, not robots,” said another member of the village that the homeless built earlier this year.

The city has not been particularly transparent in releasing information on the subject.  Normally press releases are issued on topics of public interest, but that has not happened in this instance. Rather, the homeless have been far more articulate and informative than their city hall counterparts have been.. For more background information on the tent village behind Trader Joe’s, please visit posts herein dated April 16, 17 and 27, 2023.

Thinking  of shelter for those in need, this afternoon this blogger once again drove out to 90 Blueberry Road  to see what progress has been made in the conversion of a  massive former warehouse into a possible permanent shelter for asylum seekers currently living at the EXPO. It appears that no progress has been made since this blogger visited the site some time ago.  The ‘For Lease’ sign remains in tact on the property.  What’s  up, Kevin?