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On Friday morning, Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais made a pledge to provide homes to all homeless veterans in Manchester by the end of his term, which ends in 472 days.
In a press release issued Wednesday from City Hall, Ruais recapped his recent efforts to reduce the number of visibly homeless and restore public spaces – primarily parks – from becoming encampments for the homeless.
Six months on the job as mayor, Ruais says there’s progress – last Tuesday the Board of Aldermen banned camping in the city and transferred half a million dollars to the police department to provide “hot spot patrols” in problem areas. Those two things will begin to move the needle, says Ruais.
The median cost for a two-bedroom apartment in New Hampshire is about $1,584. To afford it, someone would have to earn about $31 an hour. With the minimum wage at $7.25 an hour, someone working 168 hours a week — every hour of every day — could not afford the rent. To kick off an occasional series on homelessness, Melanie Plenda talks with Jennifer Chisholm, executive director of the New Hampshire Coalition to End Homelessness, about the problems and solutions related to homelessness in New Hampshire.
Twice a day the fire department can expect a call relating to homelessness in some way, whether it’s a fire at an encampment that needs to be extinguished; the river flooded with high rains and campers are stuck on the banks, or a medical emergency requires the departments’ attention
The mayor’s office on Thursday announced a collaboration with Members First Credit Union and Catholic Charities NH to launch a pilot program for those experiencing homelessness and utilizing services at the Engagement Center.
As someone who was homeless myself – three years ago – I have a unique understanding of the homelessness crisis that our Board of Mayor and Aldermen don’t have. Since I worked remotely before moving up to New Hampshire in February 2016, I was able to continue working while I stayed at the New Horizons shelter at 199 Manchester Street.
Federal, state, and local partners exceed challenge to house 50 Veterans in 5 months/
MANCHESTER, NH – Editor’s note: Below we bring you the Winter Edition of the Department of Housing Stability newsletter, which
This past election cycle, Mayor Ruais promised a different approach to the homelessness crisis. Unfortunately, he seems poised to repeat some of the immoral and ineffective policies of past administrations.