A bizarre incident near Domino’s Pizza on Gay Street is drawing fresh attention to Portsmouth’s growing homeless crisis—an issue the city is actively working to address through a proposed homeless task force.
Just after 11 a.m. Wednesday, a caller reported a man rolling on the ground in the restaurant parking lot. Minutes later, another 911 call came in, stating that a man—identified by name—was suffering a mental health breakdown. When officers arrived, the man was gone. Police checked his information and discovered he previously lived at a nearby apartment, so they assumed he had returned home and did not pursue the matter further.
But just two minutes later, the man was back—this time in an alley, without pants.
Officers returned to the scene and took Robert Chandler into custody for disorderly conduct.
According to court records, Chandler is listed as homeless, with a pending assault charge in Portsmouth Municipal Court stemming from an incident in March. He was evicted from a nearby PMHA apartment complex in January, highlighting the fragile housing situation many in the city face.
This chaotic call underscores the urgent need for coordinated solutions—something Portsmouth City Council is currently considering with a proposed resolution to create a homeless task force. The group would be tasked with developing actionable strategies to address issues surrounding the city’s nine known homeless camps, lack of housing access, and growing number of mental health-related calls.
As scenes like this continue to unfold in public places, officials and residents alike are calling for long-term solutions that go beyond simply “moving people along.”
