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Center for Social Policy
McCormack Graduate School
University of Massachusetts Boston
100 Morrissey Blvd.
Boston, MA 02125-3393
Phone: (617) 287 5550
Fax: (617) 287 5544
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Visitor Gives Town Glimpse of Harsher World
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Author(s):
Joyce Crane, Globe Correspondent
Source(s):
Boston Globe, Page: 1 Section: Globe NorthWest
Date: December 8, 2002
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Police say Harold Marsh was the first homeless person they had ever encountered in Andover.
Every day last summer, he held court in front of the CVS Pharmacy on Main Street. About a
month ago, he disappeared - possibly headed for warmer climes. But while here from June to
November, his presence reminded residents of a harsher world beyond the clean-swept
sidewalks and toney shops of downtown, and hinted at a trickle of homelessness from cities
to the suburbs.
It's not clear how police learned of Marsh's name, but they said his Social Security
number is in their database. During the summer, Marsh turned quite a few heads along the
kaleidoscopic scene on Main Street. Police Lieutenant Phillip Froburg said the department
received complaints from residents voicing differing concerns: those worried about Marsh's
welfare, and those complaining about his bathroom activities behind their downtown
businesses.
"We had offered to take him to a shelter, but he didn't want to go," Froburg said.
Andover public health nurse Joanne Martel confirmed she was aware of Marsh's presence for
several months, but said she was never called for assistance in placing him in a shelter
or other facility.
"I saw him. I think everybody did," Martel said. But offering assistance is tricky legal
business, she said, and not easily rendered, particularly when someone chooses a certain
lifestyle.
Marsh's presence was a rare reminder of the juxtaposition of affluent Andover (median
income $87,683, according to the 1999 Census) and its urban neighbor to the north,
Lawrence ($27,983).
Sometime in early summer, police say, Marsh left the dense traffic in the area around
the Interstate 495-Route 114 junction, near Showcase Cinemas in Lawrence, for the maple
tree-lined streets of downtown Andover, with its coffee shops, clothing, and gift
stores.
By day, passersby would find him sitting amid his belongings in front of CVS on Main
Street.
One morning in early summer, a reporter encountered Marsh at Andover Video on Main
Street. Sweat covered his muddy-colored skin, and knotted, chestnut locks fell to his
shoulders. He looked to be in his 40s. Because he seemed to be breathing with difficulty,
he was asked if he was all right, and he responded with a cheerful lecture about a
metaphysical theory of his - including a demonstration of abdominal gyrations.
Police believe that Marsh had a bank account at the Sovereign Bank on Main Street, where
he sometimes lingered. He occasionally entered CVS to fill a prescription, and town
parks and grounds workers said they sometimes saw him walking from the pricey Wild Oats
Community Market on Railroad Street with bags of groceries.
But living on the street left Marsh without shower or bathroom facilities. Although the
town has public restrooms in old Town Hall, police said Marsh left body wastes in an
alleyway behind Main Street.
"As long as he wasn't harming anyone, we saw no reason to harass him," said Officer
David St. Jean, who patrols the downtown section where Marsh spent most of his time.
"But then we started getting complaints from store owners, so we had to move him."
On Oct. 22, he was arrested for indecent exposure, according to Froburg.
Marsh spent a few nights sleeping on the town common, police said, before ending up
hidden in the heart of downtown behind blooming shrubs at Elm Green.
On Nov. 8, parks and grounds workers John Burke and Christopher Kun discovered Marsh's
belongings and trash behind the Elm Green shrubs. The square, a tribute to war veterans,
is a smartly landscaped plaza with rooted shrubs in front of a curved brick wall.
Between the shrubs and the wall, Marsh left behind enough trash to fill three garbage
cans.
"He was right in the heart of downtown," Kun said. "It was shocking. You expect to see
something like that in the woods somewhere."
Marsh hasn't been seen since, and while police say they understand that he bought a
plane ticket to Florida, they haven't confirmed this.
Joseph Piantedosi, who is a Bedford selectman and Andover's director of plants and
facilities, said Bedford recently faced a more troublesome public issue. A man and a
woman in their 30s were sleeping in the woods behind Shawsheen Cemetery, he said, and
town officials fielded complaints that the couple was engaging in sexual activity.
"I think it's a sign of the times when these things come up and towns will have to
start figuring out how to deal with them," Piantedosi said.
Although a Bedford police source would not confirm the complaints of sexual activity,
he acknowledged the couple set up a campsite behind the cemetery for several weeks,
but emphasized that both parties were welcome in their parents' nearby homes. The
source said the female was charged with larceny over $200 on Nov. 24, and is now in the
custody of the state.
"This issue affects everywhere," said Robyn Frost, executive director of the
Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless. "Right now motels are housing homeless
families in area bedroom communities such as Northborough, Southborough, Wareham,
Braintree, Tewksbury, and Danvers - areas that have not seen homelessness before.
There's no question that homelessness is now part of even the more affluent
communities."
Noting that 35,000 people become homeless every year in the Commonwealth, Frost said,
"Homelessness is a diverse population. You've got people who are working, people who
are struggling, people who are mentally ill."
A 2000 report issued by the McCormack Institute of Public Affairs, Center for Social
Policy, noted that out of 207 homeless people interviewed, two-thirds reported having
a primary disability such as substance abuse, medical problems, or mental illness.
In Andover, town officials were careful to preserve Marsh's rights, despite public
disapproval.
"You can't assume he has a physical or mental illness just because he's on the street,"
said Martel. "You can't just go up to someone and assert your own rules and values
unless they do something wrong. It's against their rights, as much as we want to
help."
The streets of Andover are less eclectic, colorful, and strange now that Marsh has
disappeared, leaving behind a shopping cart and gummy bear wrappers. His presence brought
the plight of the homeless home to roost in a community once far removed from the
issue.
"It's a beautiful town," said Kun, "and you expect everything else around you to be
beautiful, and it's just not a beautiful thing to see. It kind of makes you wonder,
that's all. It kind of gives you a different outlook."
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