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Portsmouth, like too many small towns across this country, is at a breaking point. The streets tell the story—tents tucked away in alleyways, figures curled up under bridges, and law enforcement officers caught between their sworn duties and the impossible task of acting as makeshift social workers.
We have made a habit of moving the problem instead of solving it. A homeless person sleeping in front of a business isn’t the problem—the why behind that homelessness is. And yet, instead of answering that question with solutions, we throw them in jail for a few hours or, worse, pretend they don’t exist.
The truth is, the majority of those living on the streets aren’t there because they simply “gave up.” The pipeline from addiction to homelessness is real. The connection between mental illness and living unhoused is undeniable. And yet, we have built a system so tangled in red tape that the people who need help the most have nowhere to go.
The Unfixable Catch-22
Here’s the reality: rehabs won’t take clients with severe mental health issues. Mental health hospitals won’t take patients in active addiction. Where exactly are these people supposed to go? The average person would say, “They need to get into treatment.” Well, sure. But how?
Imagine trying to kick an addiction when your only option has trespassed you from their facilities due to your unchecked mental illness. Imagine struggling with schizophrenia, unable to get a single prescription because no mental health facility will admit you while you’re still using. These are not hypotheticals. These are the situations that unfold in Portsmouth every single day.
So, what do we do? Lock them up for a few hours? Give them a citation they’ll never pay? Hope they disappear into the next county?
That’s not a solution. That’s avoidance. And avoidance is exactly why we are where we are today.
What Portsmouth Needs to Do Right Now
The Supreme Court has ruled that moving out homeless encampments isn’t unconstitutional, but that doesn’t mean it’s an answer. You can clear the sidewalks, but the problem doesn’t go away just because it’s not in front of City Hall (either one). And every day we wait—every meeting that kicks this issue down the road—is another night that human beings are sleeping outside in the cold. The vicious cycle makes headlines again during the scorching summer months.
We Need Action
If we’re serious about addressing homelessness, it starts with recognizing that many of these individuals had a home once. Maybe they still have family elsewhere—people who would step in if given the chance. In some cases, the relationships are too fractured. But, that family member may be willing to work through the local social services to help their loved one. Why not create a program that offers free transportation back to those willing to help,or at least willing to do regular checks on their welfare, along with a $200 stipend to help them start over?
For those without that option, let’s look at places that have real solutions. Just a short drive away, Huntington has resources Portsmouth can only dream of—mental health hospitals, structured shelter programs, and daily labor opportunities where a person can get paid that same day. There are daily bus services all over the city. Instead of forcing people into a cycle of hopelessness, we could be transporting those willing there—with the same $200 in their pocket and a real shot at stability.
Would this fix everything? No. But it would be a start.
And starting is the one thing Portsmouth has refused to do.
It’s easy to look at homelessness and pretend it’s someone else’s problem. But the truth is, when we let this issue fester, it becomes our problem—through crime, through economic decline, through the erosion of what makes a town like this feel like home.
We cannot police our way out of this crisis. We cannot ignore our way out of it either.
But we can decide—right now—to stop making excuses and start making changes.
