Homelessness, like high blood pressure or family wealth, is often inherited by the next generation. That’s the sad reality Stacie Pickford Baez of Jaffrey found herself in as soon as she reached adulthood. To Baez, it seemed like everything in her.
But solving adequate affordable housing remains a priority for housing advocates
March 15, 2021
Martha Stone, executive director of Cross Roads House in Portsmouth, which provides emergency and transitional housing services. ‘Even people who are employed cannot typically afford a market-rate apartment,’ she says. (Photo by Scott Merrill)
One year after the Covid-19 pandemic was declared a public health emergency by Gov. Chris Sununu, the rental market in New Hampshire will receives another dose of government assistance on March 15. But even with new relief on the way, the creation of affordable housing remains a pressing issue.
The latest round of assistance $20 million – comes from a stimulus bill passed in January that dedicated $25 billion to the states.
Caption: Martha Stone, Executive Director of Cross Roads House in Portsmouth, N.H. Photo/Scott Merrill
One year after the Covid-19 pandemic was declared to be a public health emergency by Gov. Sununu, the rental market in New Hampshire will be receiving another dose of government assistance on March 15. But even with new relief on the way, the creation of affordable housing remains a pressing issue for the state.
The latest round of rental assistance comes from a stimulus bill passed in Jan. that dedicated $25 billion to the states. The money is part of the Coronavirus Relief Fund, run by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Outside all winter: In N.H. and in the Lakes Region, unsheltered homelessness rises
Tim Haddock is a regular for lunch at Isaiah 61 Cafe in Laconia, which offers a weekday respite from the cold and a source of donated coats mittens and sleeping bags during cold weather. Roberta Baker Laconia Daily Sun
Freeman Toth has the weighty job of finding people before it is too late.
As one of two homeless outreach and housing stability coordinators for the Community Action Program of Belknap-Merrimack Counties, Toth combs the woods, encampments, parks and gazebos, shelters, soup kitchens and cars. He looks for people who have no consistent place to sleep or to escape life-threatening weather. Late last year he discovered a young man passed out on railroad tracks in freezing temperatures.