From businesspeople to religious leaders, folks who say they have been proud to call downtown Nashua home for anywhere from one or two years to dozens more have become increasingly worried that “proud” may someday no longer apply.

A panel of roughly 10 men and women, some of whom run businesses downtown, and others who hold public office or serve on city boards or committees, went before the Board of Aldermen last week for a “listening session” that gave each of them the opportunity to share their sometimes shocking, often revolting experiences with homeless people in recent weeks.

“I walk past human waste, syringes … I’ve watched panhandlers walk into restaurants, go up to diners and ask for money,” Alyssa O’Mara, executive director of Great American Downtown, said.

Her regular chores

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