O P I N I O N
THE SOAPBOX
Stand up. Speak up. It’s your turn.
Elected officials are meant to vote in the interest of the people they represent. Yet with NH HB 60, which ends just cause eviction protections, our leaders have made a decision that does not reflect the reality many of us are facing. Housing has already become unaffordable, and now thousands are left hanging by a thread, unsure if they will have a place to call home tomorrow. These struggles cut across party, race, faith, and income, because the hardships of life spare no one. Humanity is shared, and so should be the responsibility to protect it.
Homelessness in our state grew by 52.1% between 2022 and 2023, compared to a 12% increase nationally. Some argue that those who are unhoused simply do not work hard enough, and therefore, do not deserve assistance or empathy; but the reality is that none of us can predict tomorrow. The causes of homelessness are complex: many live paycheck to paycheck, many lose jobs, many suffer from mental health issues, and many are forced into unsafe or unsuitable living situations. To dismiss their struggles as a lack of effort is to ignore the truth. Empathy and kindness are not privileges to be earned, so why should anyone have to deserve them? Should compassion be conditional?
The passage of this bill undoes tenant protections that have stood for 40 years. How does that help anyone? How does it reduce homelessness, strengthen our schools, or make children safer? How does it improve healthcare that so many of us can already barely afford? Families are already feeling the weight of today’s crises, so how can stripping away protections possibly be the answer?
Landlords already have numerous legal avenues to evict tenants. We do not need to make it easier, especially in the middle of a housing crisis. Ending just cause protections puts already vulnerable populations, such as older adults, people with disabilities, and those living on low or fixed incomes, at far greater risk. If a landlord can evict simply because they prefer a different tenant, stability becomes impossible for those who need it most.
The people signing these bills might not be the ones affected by them or on the verge of losing their homes, but they still have a responsibility to those who are. Laws should ease the hardships we face, not deepen them. It is not too late to remember why they were elected in the first place: to serve the people.
Mackenzie Verdiner is Youth Organizer for Granite State Organizing Project
Kevin Kintner is Former Director of New Horizons Shelter
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