Nashua warming station causes concern over use of funding
While no one is disputing the need for an overnight warming station for the city’s unhoused, there are questions about how the city is paying for it – and why the decision was made in an emergency setting.
NASHUA, NH – While no one is disputing the need for an overnight warming station for the city’s unhoused, there are questions about how the city is paying for it – and why the decision was made in an emergency setting.
On Jan. 24 the finance committee authorized an overnight warming station at the Unitarian Universalist Church on Canal Street during an emergency meeting at a cost of $97,000, to come from the Opioid Abatement Trust Fund to cover the cost of staffing. Concern was expressed by some aldermen regarding the use of this fund for the station, which had $336,000 at the time of the meeting.
“I’m sure we’ll get more stuff into [the fund] but over time it’s going to whittle down …” Ward 8 Alderman Derek Thibeault said. “So my concern is only, all right, we’re going to do this, it’s the right thing to do, how are we then going to still have money to work on the opioid crisis in the city? This part doesn’t solve that, it just helps those people get some shelter.”
Ward 3 Alderman Patricia Klee also spoke to this point, adding, “I really do want to see this get budgeted so that we’re not attacking the trust fund … .”
The Opioid Abatement Trust Fund can be used if the majority of people using the warming shelter have opioid use disorder, according to Bobbie Bagley, the city’s director of Public Health and Community Services. Bagley asked for the contract at the emergency meeting.
She said the Nashua Soup Kitchen and Shelter reached capacity just weeks after opening their extended shelter. While they expected 28 to 30 individuals, they had already reached 28 in December and sometimes there have been over 30. The goal of the warming station is to give the unhoused population somewhere else to go.
Aldermen hope the warming station will be offered during the cold-weather season again in the future and expressed the need for it to open earlier in the fall. Alderman-At-Large Melbourne Moran Jr. was concerned that the warming station is just now being offered.
He said, “I do think this is a bit too little, too late. I absolutely support it. … I’m just disappointed that we’re doing this now versus back in December. … I was well aware prior to the shelter’s cold hours opening up that they were already at capacity before they even opened it. … Why did it take almost until February to do it now? So I’m just concerned that we didn’t treat my unhoused constituents with dignity and respect, and we waited too late.”
