Homeless Tents, Debris Cleared After Woman Dies In Manchester Christmas Day

MANCHESTER, NH — Manchester police have identified the woman found dead Christmas morning in a tent outside of the Families In Transition Homeless Shelter in Manchester.

Police, fire, and AMR ambulance responded to an area outside the shelter for an unresponsive person in a tent on Sunday. Firefighters arrived at the scene at 11:25 a.m. and quickly pronounced the person deceased. Police closed off the area around Manchester Street.

Police secured the area around the tent where the person was found and began checking on the condition of the people in the other tents. Police said the person was 34-year-old Amanda Hartness. She was found unresponsive in the tent. The initial investigation was the death did not appear suspicious.

The sidewalks around the Families In Transition shelter are where many unhoused individuals have set up tents and make-shift shelters after being forced out of local parks by the city of Manchester. Many people living on the sidewalk encampment had previously lived in several encampments around Manchester until they were removed.

Manchester has seen a growing homeless population and multiple deaths in the last two years. Dozens of small encampments have been established in wooded areas, doorways of businesses, and most recently, the bus station on Canal Street.

Recently, a person died inside the 1269 Cafe warming shelter, which was acting as a warning shelter. The death appeared to be related to a medical incident.

Monday, a woman gave birth to a premature baby boy at an encampment in a wooded area on the West Side of Manchester. The woman called 911 but was elusive about the location of the newborn. Fire, police, and EMS personnel searched for over an hour and eventually found the 3-month premature newborn unresponsive in a tent. The woman is facing several charges for the incident and has an outstanding warrant from Concord.

Manchester police assisted the public works department as they worked outside the Families In Transition Shelter Wednesday to clean up trash and abandoned property, including some tents.

Several officers from the Community Affairs Division worked with people living outside the shelter to identify tents and property that had been abandoned. Tents of those who may be currently in the hospital or receiving services offsite were not removed, according to MPD Lt Greg DiTullio. Individuals living outside the shelter were helpful, bringing the abandoned property and trash to an area where the DPW could pick it up and dispose of it.

A tent belonging to Hartness was left intact so that the woman’s next of kin could remove any belongings and personal items.

©Jeffrey Hastings www.frameofmindphoto.com/news