More than half of New Hampshire mayors have called for additional state funding and support to deal with the “immediate” homelessness crisis following the death of a woman and the birth of a baby in a freezing tent in Manchester last month.

The letter dated Tuesday requested Gov. Chris Sununu and top officials with the Department of Health and Human Services to increase emergency shelter beds, provide funding to increase services for women and homeless youth, and provide more medical care.

“Inadequate state services for individuals experiencing substance use disorder, mental illness, chronic health conditions, histories of trauma, and incarceration are all substantial factors contributing to homelessness in New Hampshire,” the mayors wrote. “The ongoing opioid epidemic is also exacerbating homelessness in the state.”

The letter was signed by eight of the state’s 13 mayors – Mayor Jo Brown of Franklin, Mayor Joyce Craig of Manchester, Mayor Jim Donchess of Nashua, Mayor Andrew Hosmer of Laconia, Mayor Bob Carrier of Dover, Mayor Paul Grenier of Berlin and Mayor Dana Hilliard of Claremont.

“The State of New Hampshire’s systems of care for individuals experiencing or at-risk of homelessness are not meeting the needs of communities across the state and are contributing to a statewide homelessness crisis,” the letter read.

Concord Mayor Jim Bouley did not sign the letter.

“I did not think the letter was the appropriate approach to take if looking to solve a problem,” Bouley said. “If you’re going to solve an issue like this, you need to sit down face to face in the room together and have a conversation and I didn’t feel the letter did that.”

Though he agreed with some of the statements made in the letter – particularly about a shortage of shelter space and mental health and psychiatric beds – Bouley said other points didn’t reflect the Concord experience, including a lack of communication between the city and state and agencies that help the homeless.

“We probably have some of our best working relationships with our nonprofit community that we have ever had,” Bouley said. “We have a lot of collaborations going on whether it’s with the Concord Coalition to End Homelessness, the McKenna House, the crisis center, the hospital and the county. I can’t speak to what it’s like in other communities but we do have good relationships. Could it be better? Yes, absolutely.”

In addition to requesting additional funding and services, the letter, which was also sent to DHHS Commissioner Lori Weaver and Associate Commissioner Christine Santaniello, calls for a statewide emergency operations plan for winter surges, and shareable information about statewide warming stations and emergency shelter availability.

The letter specifically asks for assistance targeted toward Manchester and Nashua programs, including using the state-owned Tirrell House in Manchester as a shelter for women and additional funding for Stepping Stones in Nashua, which serves as a drop-in center for homeless youth.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the number of individuals who have experienced homelessness in the state has tripled and state estimates predict that over 4,500 state residents will experience homelessness this year.

In November 2020, all 13 of New Hampshire’s mayors, including Bouley, wrote a letter to Gov. Sununu stating that homelessness needs to be a top priority for the state. Tuesday’s letter said nothing has changed since then.

Bouley disagreed and noted that Sununu has appointed the Council on Housing Stability, which is not a statutory committee, he said.

Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig was not able for an interview Tuesday afternoon.

Editor’s note: This story has been clarified to reflect that Mayor Joyce Craig was unavailable for an interview before the Monitor’s deadline Tuesday afternoon.

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