Services will be available at the city’s shelter for the elderly and infirm homeless at 200 Elm Street.
MANCHESTER, NH – The City of Manchester on Tuesday announced an enhanced partnership with the Mental Health Center of Greater Manchester (MHCGM) to strengthen the City’s response to homelessness, substance use disorder, and co-occurring mental health challenges.
This collaboration will establish a centralized, one-stop service model designed to improve access to critical support services by bringing them under one roof. The initiative builds on existing resources and infrastructure to ensure individuals can more quickly and effectively connect with the care they need.
While not unlike the weekly resource fair model at 39 Beech Street, the difference is that support services will be available daily.
“We have to construct the office space, but [support partners] will be in there full time, on site, to help get people connected to services,” Ruais said about the program, made possible through a grant from Granite United Way. “As opposed to it being a once a week resource fair, they will be there 9 to 5.”
The project focuses on coordination rather than duplication of services, streamlining referrals and strengthening system alignment to better serve individuals during periods of crisis and transition.
The enhanced model will include various service providers, combined to ensure a full-time staff member will be collocated at the new Aged and Infirmed Shelter with accompanying Engagement Center, providing consistent, on-site support and improving real-time access to services such as care coordination, enrollment assistance, and housing resources.
Part of the Opioid Abatement Community Grants Program (OACGP) this funding comes from national opioid settlement agreements and supports community healing, recovery and prevention across New Hampshire. Granite United Way administers the OACGP on behalf of the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services and the Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission. This multi-year grant is implemented in partnership with the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation.
“This systemic change is about building a system that works. When services like mental health, recovery support, housing and more, are coordinated and accessible, we can better support individuals in breaking the cycle of homelessness and moving toward stability,” Mayor Jay Ruais said. “That is what we are building at the Aged and Infirmed Shelter. We are not creating new services, we are making our existing continuum work better, faster, and more efficiently for the people who need it most. This partnership represents an important step forward in how we address homelessness in Manchester. Homelessness should be rare, brief and one time, and this model moves us closer to that goal by removing barriers and meeting people where they are.”
The City and MHCGM emphasize that long term, systemic change requires stronger integration across service providers. This partnership reflects a shared commitment to improving outcomes through collaboration, efficiency, and accountability.
“This enhanced partnership reflects our shared commitment to meeting individuals where they are and ensuring they have timely access to the coordinated care they need,” Patricia Carty, President and CEO at the Mental Health Center of Greater Manchester said. “By aligning our services more closely with the City’s efforts, we can reduce barriers, respond more effectively in moments of crisis, and help individuals move toward stability, recovery, and long-term well being.”
Nichole Martin Riemer, President and CEO of Granite United Way, spoke about their commitment to the project.
“We are proud to be part of this collaborative work and remain committed to strengthening the health of our community. We have witnessed first-hand how working together can reduce barriers and ensure access to these critical services,” Reimer said.
The City is in the process of recruiting additional partners who are interested in co-locating staff at the Aged and Infirmed Shelter. If you are a community partner interested in this effort, please contact Daley Frenette in the Mayor’s Office at dfrenette@manchesternh.gov.