Written in Granite: Helping the homeless in Nashua

Think about this for a moment the next time autumn temperatures dip into the low 30s: a safe, welcoming space, along with a cozy, hot shower.

Isn’t that what every individual deserves? I like to think so, and that’s what the new partnership between the City of Nashua and Harbor Care hopes to deliver to people experiencing homelessness. Up to 300 people are reportedly unsheltered in Greater Nashua, and unfortunately, those numbers are rising every year.

The collaboration has launched a new Resource Center at Harbor Care Health and Wellness headquarters at 45 High St. The well-regarded nonprofit helped more than 5,000 individuals and families access housing, healthcare and veteran services in 2025, according to the center’s website.

Harbor Care is opening its first-floor space to the city as a central hub for support services and housing navigation, seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. I believe this is a major step forward for my city, creating a safe, dignified indoor space with essential amenities like showers and restrooms, while bridging the gap to vital support networks that pave the way toward permanent housing.

The location is ideal: downtown, secure and open daily. Trained personnel will be on-site from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to oversee facility operations, bag checks and guest safety policies. However, you can’t sleep there.

In the meantime, the cafeteria at the back of the now-closed former Elm Street Middle School will once again serve as the Winter Warming Station until mid-April. Usually, the city’s operational plan calls for an opening on Dec. 1. However, Ward 4 Alderman Tom Lopez and Alderwoman-at-Large Shoshanna Kelly would like to move the date up.

Kelly said there’s been quite a chill in the air. “I went to church on Sunday, and as I was pulling up on Main Street, I thought, It’s cold out, and there were still a lot of people outside. It would be great to have the warming station open soon. It was 30 degrees that night.”

Lopez agreed that waiting until after Thanksgiving isn’t the best call because it’s too cold by then. “I’m pretty certain they’re going to open the warming station on November 1st.” I hope Alderman Lopez is right; that sounds sensible.

Nashua’s Warming Station provides a safe, warm overnight space with volunteer support coordinated by the United Way of Greater Nashua, another fine team doing good work. Doors will open nightly from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.

Nashua is no different from any other small-to-mid-sized community trying to solve homelessness. It’s complicated, but city officials here are working hard.

Call me silly, but I think using a vacant parking lot and filling it with modular units could perhaps provide stability for unhoused individuals and families. Before you laugh, I learned that San Diego has 18 recreational vehicle trailers for homeless families as they search for more permanent housing. The RVs are stationed in parking lots opened by the city, the local school district and a nonprofit partner. The private trailers come equipped with beds, bathrooms and showers.

The idea is spreading: The Cincinnati, Ohio, school district recently opened its first safe parking lot for families at a downtown elementary school.

Then again, Nashua’s Board of Aldermen passed strict ordinances banning public camping and heavily restricting long-term parking of recreational vehicles or trailers on city property. Some would see San Diego’s solution for Nashua as going back to square one.

Hoping for the best this cold winter season.