Mayors call for state to take greater role in solving homelessness

LACONIA — State government needs to take a greater role in coordinating and implementing a response to homelessness, a problem that has grown worse during the coronavirus pandemic and could turn deadly when frigid weather sets in, New Hampshire’s 13 mayors told Gov. Chris Sununu in a letter Thursday.

“The number of unsheltered people living outside is increasing throughout our state and country,” stated the letter, signed by Laconia Mayor Andrew Hosmer and Franklin Mayor Tony Giunta, among others.

“In recent months, in an effort to prevent community spread of COVID-19 and allow for social distancing, shelters have been forced to decompress and reduce the number of available beds.

“We have worked to increase sheltering options, including opening up additional facilities, but despite safety measures, many individuals experiencing homelessness still do not feel safe staying in shelters.”

Increased housing costs, loss of income, mental illness, substance use disorder, family break up, and domestic violence exacerbate the problem, the mayors said.

“Our cities have been developing a winter sheltering plan for months, but due to a lack of funding and emergency shelter beds in some communities, we are forced to rely on our faith-based communities to aid in response,” the letter states.

“With the very real possibility of loss of life, and many individuals experiencing homelessness living on State-owned properties, the State must be a part of the planning and implementation of a cohesive winter shelter surge plan for emergency sheltering in the winter months and beyond.”

The mayors asked for the creation of a state task force that could come up with an overarching response, rather than a piecemeal approach.

At his regular Thursday news conference, Sununu said the state has been providing millions of dollars in assistance to help people pay their rent and to expand homeless shelter capacity.

“There’s no quick fix here but the resources and the money put toward the homelessness issue is absolutely unprecedented in the past year — not even close,” he said.

He said the state Health and Human Services Department works with public health departments in cities and towns. The Legislature is in the best position to create and fund a permanent fixture in state government to address the issue further, Sununu said.

“We’re on the right path,” he said. “There’s a lot of money in that system. There’s a lot of money in all the cities and town systems quite frankly.”

The request from the mayors went beyond a cash infusion.

“Because of a lack of an overarching statewide approach, our communities’ homelessness strategies have been reactive rather than proactive,” the letter stated.

It called for an “incident command infrastructure,” metrics to determine success, accountability measures and tracking of progress.

In Laconia, Police Chief Matt Canfield estimates that about “four dozen” people in the city are living on the street.

The overall homeless population in Belknap County declined 16.67 percent — from 60 cases to 50 — between 2017 and 2019, according to a survey put out by the New Hampshire Coalition to End Homelessness. But the number of people considered chronically homeless went from four to 21.

The homeless population also includes those who don’t have a permanent home, but may go from place to place where family, friends or acquaintances will take them in for short periods.

Hosmer said that in recent visits to a couple of homeless encampments in Laconia, he learned that those living in these places are “younger people and younger people with children.“