Documents add some clarity to homeless camp clearing

State officials are facing tough questions over their handling of clearing a homeless encampment in the Manuel F. Correllus State Forest earlier this summer, and the public will get an opportunity to raise those questions during a planned listening session Thursday.

New documents recently obtained by The Times through a state records request help paint a clearer picture of the events leading up to the clearing, although there are still discrepancies in accounts; the documents further highlight the lack of resources — a source of seeming angst, not just on the local level — that go to maintaining the Island’s largest area of open space.

Meanwhile, some around the Island, with colder weather arriving, are still looking for places to live, with the Island’s only homeless shelter opening later this fall for the winter.

The cleanup, which took place on July 29 at the 5,300-acre forest, set off a broad condemnation of the state’s action because of a lack of coordination between state and local agencies, and whether or not there was ample warning to those in the encampments; it also unearthed concerns about wildfire management.

Through a public records request, The Times received copies of email communication between employees of the state Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) before and immediately after the encampments were cleared. 

As laid out in the email correspondence, awareness of a homeless encampment and attempts to coordinate a cleanup came at least two weeks before The Times initially reached out to the state department for comment on a story about the Island’s hidden homeless living in the State Forest, published on June 27.

In a weekly update email on June 10, Conor Laffey, forest superintendent, told DCR employees, including Adrian Bandoni, program manager for Cape Cod and the Islands, that the “homeless camp” in the State Forest “persists,” and despite requests to DCR rangers for help, he received no response.

“No response from DCR rangers to date,” he said.

The same sentiment about the encampment was echoed in a June 17 weekly update just after 1 pm by Laffey, and he said he posted no-camping signs. But a few hours later, Laffey said he’d heard from State Police that “they’re coordinating clearing out homeless camps Island-wide, forest included.” 

State Police referred The Times to DCR for questions.

In an email a week later, on June 24, Laffey said State Police would have a contractor go to the forest and other properties and assess the price of a cleanup.

That same day, The Times sent an inquiry to the state department for a statement on the encampment that resided under their jurisdiction. The inquiry was brought to higher-ups in the department.

“We have been coordinating with local, state, and environmental police to remedy the situation, but little action has yet to occur,” Laffey wrote to Susan Hamilton, assistant deputy commissioner of state parks operations. “We are planning on meeting with Edgartown Police and a contractor to clean up the sites, as they are very unsanitary.”

He also said when the local homeless shelter, run by Harbor Homes, closed, tents were handed out to individuals; he noted that there were only four to five individuals living in the area. He also said that the forest had been cleaned for the past four years, and no-camping signs were posted in the area. Again, he noted that DCR rangers had been notified multiple times, but hadn’t responded.

The number of unhoused individuals in the State Forest remains disputed between the Island shelter and state officials. 

According to Harbor Homes records, they helped 13 males, seven women, and two children after the encampment clearing, said Dr. Brian Morris, executive director of the nonprofit.

He also said that though Harbor Homes has distributed tents in the past, they’ve never encouraged anyone to camp in the State Forest or on public land.

Efforts were accelerated to clear the encampment a day after The Times inquiry when a contractor, Felix Fontanez from New England Disposal Technologies, was added to an email chain.

Laffey said that there were six tents currently in the State Forest, and only one individual was present when he visited June 25.

“I’ve cleaned out a site here each of the last four years, but they just move back 50 feet … every year,” he said in an email that included Fontanez. Laffey said that there were enough materials at the encampments to fill a pickup truck “several times. Last year, I filled it twice.”

Fontanez said he was not authorized to comment, and that any questions be directed to the state department.

Hamilton asked Laffey if he’d worked with “officials at the local shelter or social services organizations on Island to work with these individuals prior to clearing them out.” Laffey responded that he “tried to get the shelter and social services out to help last year, but they never showed up, and left us hanging after several attempts.”

Harbor Homes disputes the claim. Morris said Lisa Belcastro, shelter director, was not contacted. “Nor was she told of any voicemails left on our homeless prevention line,” Morris told The Times.

“The police department in Edgartown says the shelter, Harbor Homes, will try to help the individuals and help in paying costs to clear out the site,” Laffey also said in his response to Hamilton.

A DCR spokeswoman told The Times that the department assumes the costs of clearing encampments.

No staff member from Harbor Homes communicated with the police department prior to the clearing, Morris said.

Lieutenant Chris Dolby, acting chief for Edgartown Police Department, also said he wasn’t aware of the cleanup. Bruce McNamee, who retired at the end of the month as chief, said he wasn’t aware of the cleanup until one of his officers, Zachary Towns, was flagged down while on patrol in late July.

The earliest date that Fontanez could get a ferry to the Island was July 29, and Laffey said the Environmental Police would assist them that day. A Massachusetts Environmental Police spokesperson previously told The Times that DCR contacted them about the issue and the clearing plan, but no Environmental Police officer was there on the day of the clearing.

A day after the cleanup, on July 30, a communications dispatcher for Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency said that Sharon Brown, director of homeless services for Harbor Homes, reported that belongings containing medication and personal paperwork were taken when DCR personnel cleaned out the encampment.

“Caller is concerned the medication is needed ASAP for one of the people whose belongings were removed,” the dispatcher wrote in an email to DCR employees.

Laffey responded to the dispatcher email that the contractor cleared the camp the day before, and “took everything off-Island for disposal.”

“We have no-camping signs posted in the area,” he added. “We also posted signs 7/26 stating the site would be cleaned out 7/29, and all remaining items would be disposed.”

Staff members of Harbor Homes who went into the State Forest maintain they didn’t see signs prior to the clearing, but that they did see no-camping signs afterward, Morris said. “Harbor Homes cannot speak on behalf of every unhoused individual in the State Forest; however, those we spoke to or assisted claim to have had no warning — verbal or otherwise,” he said.

The encampment clearing also rekindled a concern of Dukes County Commissioners, who drafted a letter voicing their complaints to DCR about the management of the State Forest. They want true, active management, including a DCR employee that lives in the empty house in the forest to address fire risks.

The encampments do pose an increased fire risk, a DCR spokeswoman said. She added that these situations account for wildfire responses every year.

There is no official agenda for an upcoming public listening session with DCR, but Brian Arrigo, the state department’s commissioner and highest-ranking official, is expected to be in attendance to hear concerns about management of the forest. 

The session, at the Performing Arts Center at Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School, is from 5 to 6:30 pm Thursday.

“DCR generally works with local officials, legislators, law enforcement, and community groups when addressing homeless encampments to ensure the health and safety of our residents are supported,” the DCR spokeswoman said. “We look forward to joining the Martha’s Vineyard community this week to hear directly from residents on how we can best manage and protect Manuel Correllus State Forest, and ensure that it is safe and accessible for generations to come.”

“Harbor Homes looks forward to a robust dialogue around this subject, and how best to address everyone’s needs moving forward. Particularly those of the Island’s unhoused population,” Morris said. “As well, all that we at Harbor Homes can ask for is that next time DCR plans a clearing, please extend to us the courtesy of communication — and maybe even collaboration — so that we can leverage our resources to proactively assist those impacted. We would aim to minimize the disruption, loss of personal items, and trauma to those who are already suffering.”