Temporary Warming Center on Back River Road

Strafford County is building a new warming center on County Farm Road. The project is running behind, as construction projects often do. As a result, the City of Dover needs to find a temporary solution. It’s not what anyone wanted, and unfortunately, the former Willand Warming Center is not an option.

The City previously announced that the temporary warming center would reside in the McConnell Center. It would not have beds, and it could not remain open during daytime hours in the event of frigid temperatures.

I urged the City to identify a new location.

I believed, and I still do, that the McConnell Center was inhospitable. People sleep at night, and even prisons have beds. Hard chairs and slab floors do not provide a humane sleeping environment. Also, when people can’t sleep, they become irritable and agitated — same for me — and that’s a recipe for problems.

The City worked quickly to find a new location. Its choices were limited. Any location would need to meet the City’s building safety and accessibility standards. It would also need enough capacity to temporarily house people seeking life-saving warmth, and it would need to be available for an entire month, even if it’s only used 2 or 3 times. Places that have the capacity needed for people and beds are often booked in advance.

Veterans Hall was the best option, not because anyone was enthusiastic about the location, but because choices were scarce. Unlike the McConnell Center, Veterans Hall will have beds and can stay open during the day if temperatures require it. The warming center needs to be available by November 15th. That’s not much time. The City was able to coordinate with Veterans Hall so that guests with existing reservations for the space could use other accommodations.

How Will the Temporary Warming Center Be Used?

• The temporary warming center will be available beginning on November 15th, but only when temperatures demand it, meaning that it will not be open every day. The new warming center on County Farm Road is expected to open one month later, in mid-December.
• Based on previous years’ usage, the temporary warming center should only open 2 or 3 times between mid-November and mid-December. In the most recent 3 years, the Willand Warming Center opened a total of 5 times before December 15^th. It is not a full-time living facility, and it’s not a shelter.
• Approximately 15 people are expected to use the warming center at a given time, and occupancy will be capped at 50.

Neighborhood Questions

Will People Loiter in the Area?

The warming center’s operator, East Coast Evolution Leadership, is coordinating with transportation to and from the temporary warming center. The plan is designed so guests aren’t left in the neighborhood.

Individuals needing warmth will be bussed to Veterans Hall when the warming center opens for the evening, and then bussed away when it closes in the morning. The one exception is if or when daytime temperatures demand that the center remain open during the day. If that happens, people will remain in the warming center.

It is technically possible for a guest of the temporary warming center to leave early or refuse transportation and remain in the area. Guests are not prisoners. However, if a guest chooses to do so, they will not be allowed to return that day or in the future. They will need to wait until the new warming center opens on County Farm Road. There is a zero-tolerance policy.

People are using the temporary warming center to escape the cold. Their personal incentives align with following the rules. There’s no real reason for them to stay in the area.

Camping

Camping will not be allowed in the area of the temporary warming center. Its operator, East Coast Evolution Leadership, will sweep the area and notify the Dover Police Department if they see anything. Also, as said above, there are strong incentives for guests to leave on a bus when the warming center closes on a given day.

Drugs and Drug Paraphernalia

Drug use is not tolerated at the warming center, temporary or not. East Coast Evolution Leadership’s staff is trained to look for drug use and drug-related activities. They will also be sweeping the area to make sure nothing is left on the ground. This is true during smoking breaks and after the warming center is closed for the day, and buses have taken guests away.

Guests will be allowed cigarette breaks. They will be timed and monitored. Smoking will be limited to a small area next to the building. The view of smokers will be blocked by a Dover van to give nearby residents additional privacy.

How Often Are the Police Called?

Most police responses during the 2025–2026 season were for medical emergencies that required EMT assistance, since many of the center’s guests were elderly or had health conditions. The center had only five police-assisted trespasses all season.*

^*A police-assisted trespass is when an officer formally removes an individual from the warming center’s property and issues a trespass warning, which prohibits that person from returning.

Why Were There No Public Hearings?

The temporary warming center needs to open by November 15^th. The City, like all other municipalities in New Hampshire, has a legal mandate to provide life-saving services.

RSA 165:1 establishes the following local responsibility:

“I. Whenever a person in any town is poor and unable to support themselves, he or she shall be relieved and maintained by the overseers of public welfare of such town in accordance with this chapter.”

Because extreme cold is a life-threatening emergency, providing a safe, warm environment falls under the City’s legal obligation to “relieve and maintain” those without housing. I also believe it’s the right thing to do.

As mentioned above, choices for a temporary warming center were limited. Aside from Veterans Hall, I’m not aware of any. That includes the Hyder House, with its 9 individual rooms — each with direct exterior access — which would have been hard to administer due to access and security concerns.

Public hearings would not have produced alternative locations, updated the November 15^th deadline, or voided the City’s mandate.

Desire for More Communication

I know many of you wanted more frequent updates from the City. With the November 15th deadline fast approaching, things moved quickly once beds were requested. In fact, the entire process — from the initial request for beds to selecting Veterans Hall and the announcement by the City — unfolded in under 72 hours.

• 11/2/2026: Foster’s reported that the new warming center on County Farm Road would not open by the November 15th deadline.
• 11/2/2026: I learned that the temporary warming center at the McConnell Center would not have cots or beds, meaning people would have to sleep in hard chairs, on tables, or on the floor.
• 11/2/2026: I asked the City to add beds to the McConnell Center location.
• 11/3/2026: The City Council learned that adding beds to the McConnell Center was not viable and began exploring a new space.
• 11/4/2026: During the City Council Workshop, Council was informed that a new location with safety and accessibility accommodations was being finalized.
• 11/5/2026: The City announced that the temporary warming center would be located at Veterans Hall. Foster’s reported the same.

What Else?

Many residents are fearful of having homeless individuals near their homes, schools, or places of work, or near places tied to people they care about. That doesn’t mean that anyone wants homeless people to freeze to death. People can be compassionate and prioritize safety at the same time. The previous City Council struggled with the same priorities when evaluating the location of the warming center that’s being built right now.

This puts the City and residents in a tough spot. No matter where a temporary warming center is placed, there will be many residents who experience it as a threat to safety. I’m not here to tell you you’re wrong or that your priorities are wrong, and I want everyone to feel safe. I’m just trying to explain the challenging predicament we find ourselves in and the hard choices we’re facing as a community.

When the temporary warming center was planned for the McConnell Center, the same concerns existed with its use that exist with Veterans Hall. Kids use the McConnell Center, people live nearby, and it’s down the street from two schools.

Across the city, many residents share the same concerns about having a warming center near their homes and loved ones. The City is trying to balance reasonable fears for safety against its obligation to preserve life.

Veterans Hall is not the ideal location; there is no ideal location. Instead, it’s a location that can be used to preserve life in a limited capacity. While in use, the Dover Police Department will increase routine monitoring of the area and coordinate with East Coast Evolution Leadership staff so officers are available if any issues arise.

The County Farm Road center is expected to open in mid-December. Thank you to residents in the area for their patience and understanding, and to guests of Veterans Hall who rearranged their plans, so we can provide temporary relief from freezing temperatures.