A recovering addict for the last 18 months, Tofanelli spends much of her time helping others who are in the same spot she once was. She founded Mission Unified Impact in 2020, a one-person organization that supports Manchester’s homeless community and those in surrounding cities.
Others see the affordable housing crisis as directly affecting their stability even as they work and volunteer within New Hampshire communities. Briefly looking at three of those populations who might not be thought of as being affected by housing insecurity and the lack of affordable housing might help explain why the housing crisis leaves many on the outside looking in. These three groups are those with intellectual or developmental disabilities (ID/DD), those with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and abuse survivors attempting to flee their abusers.
Although it will not eliminate the great need that currently exists, it is a step in the right direction according to the city’s Director of Homeless Initiatives Schonna Green. The amount of footwork involved in such forward motion requires a lot of attention to detail. It is work mostly done behind the scenes, and often involves delicate negotiations that can easily be derailed.
In just a little over four months since Schonna Green moved to Manchester from Florida and took over as the city’s first ever Director of Homeless Initiatives she has put together a roughly 20-page plan with three phases and multiple recommendations, many of which are already being undertaken.
This is the story of how internet, pandemic and social media can come together for the greater good. If you know of and love Harry Chapin and his music, there are ways to support what he inspired throughout this piece.
The city has launched a Homeless Initiatives website that is centered on HOPE – an acronym for Housing Opens Promote Empowerment.Â
Homeless people in the Queen City are reporting to outreach workers that they are increasingly concerned about encampment clearings, and the outreach members are losing connection with individuals and service momentum with each clearing, according to a monthly report by the Manchester Homeless Outreach Collaboration.
To my surprise, help came from an unexpected source. After the first orange sticker, rock bottom hit. I was ready to end my life. Each day became harder than the last. I wound up in the ER one Sunday night, not knowing what would happen in the future. Things were not going well.
Those who want to argue as to whether the homeless really want or deserve salvation, or who get caught up in the semantics of whether addiction is a disease or a choice are missing the point, Eric Spofford says.
I don’t know Benjamin Horton or his intentions in writing his opinion piece [Enough is Enough for downtown Manchester July 23, 2020]. For all I know he had a similar upbringing to mine although I doubt that if he feels like walking in downtown Manchester is like “walking in a war zone.” What I do know is that none of what he recommends would actually solve any of the problems he described.