Two Aldermanic committees recommend creating new Department of Homeless Initiatives

MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen Committee on Administration and Information Systems held a special Monday meeting, ultimately recommending the creation of a stand-alone Department of Homeless Initiatives in a non-unanimous voice vote.

The concept of a Director of Homeless Initiatives has been in place since 2021, with Schonna Green serving in that role until last year, with Adrienne Beloin taking over after Green’s resignation.

Currently, the Director of Homeless Initiatives reports to the Manchester Fire Department Chief.

Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig said that the city’s Director of Homeless Initiatives should lead a department specifically dedicated to the issue in order to give that position the “gravitas” it needs to in order to properly coordinate city officials, local non-profits and other organizations to target efforts where they are needed to address homelessness.

Craig went on to add that Beloin is the right person to achieve those goals with the right framework in place, given her current work on the topic at the local, state and even national level. Manchester Fire Department Chief Ryan Cashin also stated his support for Beloin as a leader on the issue.

“No single (city) department is going to fix this, but we need someone to lead and that person to lead is Adrienne,” said Cashin.

Craig also added that money for an administrative position working under the director has been placed in the upcoming fiscal year’s budget, with half of the money coming from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and the other half from settlement money in a lawsuit related to opioid addiction.

Beloin noted that the change and additional help could better focus the city’s efforts at targeting homeless by allowing her to be more proactive in areas like addressing affordable housing.

If the recommendation is approved by the full Board of Mayor and Aldermen, Beloin’s annual salary of $97, 291.94 plus benefits would not change according to testimony given on Monday.

Ward 5 Alderman Anthony Sapienza questioned the need for a new department. He said that Manchester is already a leader in the state of New Hampshire in addressing the issue of homelessness and that nothing currently prevents Beloin from working with the Board of Mayor and Aldermen and other city officials to address the issue of homelessness.

He added that other city departments address a wide array of issues rather than one targeted issue, and this could set a precedent that there could be other new departments created to address just one issue. Additionally, he believed that the creation of such a department would exacerbate the issue by drawing more homeless individuals to the city.

Additionally, he also stated that a special committee of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen could be created and learned from city solicitor Peter Chiesa that it would take nine votes on the full board to dissolve the department,

Ward 8 Alderman Ed Sapienza echoed those sentiments of skepticism against the proposed department, stating that his constituents are looking for more efficiency in city government and all city employees should be encouraged to provide information regularly to the mayor and aldermen, not just department heads.

Ward 4 Alderman Christine Fajardo challenged the idea that creating a department would draw more homeless individuals to the city, stating her belief that Manchester will see a rise in homeless individuals migrating to the city whether or not this department is created and this proposed department is needed to address that expected growth.

Fajardo went on to praise to Beloin and other city officials in attempting to address the issue, but stated that the city’s current approach has been unable to fully address the issue and that empowering Beloin with a specific department would put Manchester as a leader in how to tackle the problem.

Ward 9 Alderman Jim Burkush said that tackling the issue of homelessness is one of the key concerns he is hearing from his constituents and Ward 2 Alderman Will Stewart believed that the creation of a department would be a proactive step in addressing the issue, something he says his constituents are asking him to provide.

UPDATE: On Tuesday, members of the Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen Committee on Human Resources and Insurance also took up the issue.

Ward 10 Alderman Bill Barry expressed concern that Beloin had not come before the committee with updates over the past four months. However, Ward 12 Alderman Erin George-Kelly and Ward 1 Alderman Kevin Cavanaugh believed that no city the size of Manchester or larger has been able to address the topic of homelessness without a specialized department and the creation of the department had nothing to do with Beloin herself, with George-Kelly adding that the creation of the department was originally intended to be in place before Green, which was not accomplished before her arrival.

The committee recommended the creation of the department by a non-unanimous voice vote.