Housing Stability: News and updates on addressing and ending homelessness
MANCHESTER, NH – Editor’s note: Below we bring you the Winter Edition of the Department of Housing Stability newsletter, which includes updates on several fronts as well as recent information, also available on the city’s Housing Stability page. The Department of Housing Stability is led by Director
MANCHESTER, NH – Editor’s note: Below we bring you the Winter Edition of the Department of Housing Stability newsletter, which includes updates on several fronts as well as recent information, also available on the city’s Housing Stability page.
The Department of Housing Stability is led by Director Adrienne Beloin, LICSW, along with Owen Westover, Project Assistant. You can reach them at housingstability@manchesternh.gov or by calling 603-792-3853.
The National Consultancy and the Continuum of Care
In November, Manchester learned A LOT about how we can end homelessness. The City hosted the National Alliance to End Homelessness to perform a System Design Clinic to our non-profit leaders and key community stakeholders. This consultancy provided an analysis of our resources and data collected across programs.
The Alliance continues to work with our Manchester CoC leadership committee to review recommendations and envision system improvements. The Manchester CoC is the collective of all homelessness providers, faith-based missions, advocates, persons with lived experience, and community partners.
Our consultancy has pushed us to reinvigorate members and involve new members we need to be working alongside us such as the Manchester business community, housing developers, funders, government officials, and other systems of care that address corrections and behavioral health. We are grateful to Mayor Ruais who has requested several key community stakeholders in these realms to join us. The Mayor also supports positioning the City as the next Lead Applicant of the Manchester CoC.
What this means, is that staff, partially funded by HUD, will be added to the Department of Housing Stability to coordinate funding, program evaluation, and implementation of best practice standards across the CoC. The position will be voted on by the CoC and the transition is to take place over the next months.
The Manchester CoC has kicked off the new year with informational sessions open to anyone who wants to end homelessness with us. We have adopted new goals including the creation of a Data and Evaluation Committee and redesigned our governance charter. Some of the work ahead will be increasing the funding our system receives to tackle homelessness, increasing housing first initiatives, decreasing the need for emergency shelter, and overall improving the outcomes of our programs and of our most vulnerable residents.
Next scheduled meeting of the Continuum of Care: A Zoom session set for March 21, 2024, 9 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Check the website for any changes to the schedule.
Current Encampment Monitoring
February 2024 Update: 12 sites
6 camps, private and/or city property, approximately 8-10 homeless individuals involved.
6 camps, state property. State has been notified and we are coordinating next steps.
The annual homeless count that took place at the end of January showed that we continue to have approximately 140 unsheltered homeless individuals in Manchester in scattered and changing locations. The Manchester shelters are full and account for approximately 416 individuals and people in families.
Despite the continued crisis, we have experienced that this street population is more engaged with indoor homelessness programming during the day due to the addition of the Beech Street Engagement Center which provides low-barrier daytime refuge and rehabilitation services and on average has 70 people accessing a day.
The street population is also accessing the overnight Winter Warming Station at the 1269 Café where they are seeing approximately 70 individuals at night.
This service will end in March along with other warming sites across the state.
Shelter and Engagement
The city-run adult emergency shelter and daytime engagement center at 39 Beech St. continue to keep approximately 100 individuals off the streets seven days a week. On-site partners provide case management and treatment for health, substance use disorder, mental health, income maximization, and housing navigation. In extreme weather conditions, we partner with the Fire Department to provide Warming Station overflow to the 1269 Café Winter Warming Station which is at capacity each night.
Contact Beech Street Shelter and Engagement Center: 603-413-1775
The city-funded 16-bed women’s emergency shelter at Brook Street reopened on January 22, 2024, and just like the local shelters, they have been full with a waitlist of women and their children. The Revive Center, focused on at-risk women is expanding city-wide outreach at the Brook Street community space and The Engagement Center.
Contact Beacon at Brook Street: Light of Life Ministries 15 Brook Street, Manchester: 603-698-3231.
IN NEED OF DONATIONS
The following items can be dropped off at 39 Beech St., seven days a week between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
- socks
- sweatpants
- T-shirts
- underwear
- bras
- clothing
- footwear
- winter wear
- backpacks
- feminine hygiene
- toothbrushes
- toothpaste
- shampoo
- conditioner
- deodorant
- first-aid products
- razors
- lotion
- hair products
- hand sanitizer
- trash bags
- wallets
- toilet paper
- paper towels
- hand soap
- paper plates
- plastic utensils
- to-go cups
- coffee
- sugar
- creamer
- hand warmers
- toe warmers
- journals
- planners
