Chey Lorde hugged her blue stuffed animal tight, thinking about all she’d lost in the last year. In December, floods washed away her encampment site. In February, police threatened a no-trespassing order on their new spot in the woods. Every move meant repacking the few belongings she still had – blankets, survival gear and sentimental tokens.

Lorde, 21, has experienced homelessness in the Concord area on and off since 2019 alongside her husband Brendan. Typically, the two stick to themselves, setting up camp alone and hunkering down in their tent. 

But after the last no-trespassing threat in December, Patrick Walsh, known as Mountain Man among the un-housed community helped them move at a moment’s notice. It’s a gesture Lorde doesn’t forget, and one that comes to mind when she thinks of Walsh. 

He was found dead at his own encampment last week near the Merrimack River. Now, his friends are trying to honor him by finding a new solution for housing so others don’t have to live and die like he did.

“It took 12 hours for us to move all of our stuff that day,” she said Tuesday. “And he didn’t expect anything in return for it. He was just being a good person and doing that for us.” 

‘Plans for the future’

Marjorie Blaisdell was walking down Main Street in Concord nearly a decade ago when she first met Walsh, singing to himself at 2 a.m. 

“He was definitely a character,” she said. 

For many experiencing homelessness in Concord, Walsh was a familiar face. Living unhoused in the area for over a decade, he was known for singing from the clock tower downtown, said Blaisdell. 

He’d leave grocery carts in his wake as well. Walking down the train tracks, towards the Friendly Kitchen, the row of carts was a sign Walsh had been there. 

It’s hard for them to believe that he’s dead. Police were notified of his body last week after a friend found Walsh at his site and ran to call for help. Concord Police said they do not suspect any foul play. 

A few months ago, he visited the resource center at the Concord Coalition to End Homelessness to inquire about applying for supplemental security income and social security disability insurance payments.  

“He was making plans for the future,” said Blaisdell.  

When Walsh helped Lorde and her husband, they invited him to set up camp alongside them. Together, they could help each other, she hoped. 

“We actually offered for him to permanently be with us, to be like our family,” said Lorde. “It’s a very big thing for us. We try to keep to ourselves.” 

But he was intent on returning to their old site, she said. Walsh was well known to police, who said they’d be back later to clear the area.  

“This suffering and injustice out here shouldn’t be so bad that people feel like the only way out is to commit crimes or end their lives,” Lorde said.

Moving around 

Blaisdell’s bags are packed at all times. One suitcase holds her paperwork – birth certificates and other legal documents, another bag is for toiletries. A “bug out bag” has two sets of clothes for herself and her boyfriend. Another holds a couple of cans of vegetables and two bottles of water.

“Then you carry your backpack with everything else that is important,” she said. “I’ve gotten to a point where I just leave them packed… it’s the worst part about it.” 

In the last year alone, she’s been forced to move three times as Concord police issue no trespassing orders on sites throughout the city. The same held true for Walsh. He’d been moved from a campsite he called home for two years before he was issued another no trespassing order with Lorde in December.

“That’s the worst part about Concord, really they’re trying to drive us out,” she said. “They are doing everything in their power to make everyone as uncomfortable as possible to drive us out.”

These days, Blaisdell feels less of an “in this together” mentality among people experiencing homelessness, not the way that Walsh helped Lorde.

An influx of people in the area, as rates of homelessness continue to rise across the country and in New Hampshire, have brought instances of theft and mistrust, she said. 

More people experiencing homelessness, or living on the edge as Walsh once did, means longer waitlists for assistance programs or housing help. Just last week, Concord Housing announced that they closed their voucher waitlist program. 

If she goes to the resource center – where people have access to showers, laundry and case management assistance – there are a dozen new faces, with the services they provide exceeding the demand, said Blaisdell. 

It’s a situation that Blaisdell never imagined she’d end up in. But now, it’s one she’s learned to handle. 

“I have two college degrees. I owned my own business. I didn't expect to live out here,” she said. “I manage to survive out here more than most. You adapt.”  

A community solution 

Lorde is quick to answer when asked what a stable place to live would provide for her. 

“I’d feel safe and secure 24/7, and not feel uncertain or stressed out,” she said. 

Most days, she jokes that she’s the guard dog of her tent while her boyfriend is at work. She’ll make friendship bracelet earrings with supplies she got from Michael’s and play on her phone. 

She wants a place where she can live without fear of losing her belongings to fire or flood.

Lorde is among a group of people experiencing homelessness envisioning a new community living site in Concord that could support a cluster of tiny homes, RVs and provide work opportunities, as well. Terri Gladstone, a community advocate, is working with the group to bring this idea to the city. 

“They need someone that is going to work quicker and be more creative,” said Gladstone. “They want to be part of the solution." 

In Austin, Texas, a site called Community First is a 27-acre development designed with 225 tiny homes providing housing for people who are chronically homeless. Gladstone hopes for a similar project in Concord. 

The Concord Coalition to End Homelessness has previously considered cottage homes as a path for housing for clients. However, they struggled to find land with the appropriate zoning ordinances for the project. 

Gladstone now hopes to restart conversations about a partnership. 

“We really have to come up with something that is going to go a little faster and be a little more attractive in the community and be part of the solution for both the community and our neighbors that are homeless," she said. “The biggest thing is though it has to be a community effort. Everybody has to be invested in it.”  

With a housing project like this, people like Walsh, Lorde and Blaisdell wouldn’t be jostled from site to site across the city, said Gladstone.

If it came to fruition, they hope to do it in memory of their friend. 

“They want to do this in honor of Mountain Man,” said Gladstone. “We want him to be more than just a name called out at the memorial vigil in December.”