Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
New Hampshire
Mayors say need is growing for state homelessness prevention funds – NH Business Review
The Hundred Nights shelter located in Keene. (Courtesy of Hundred Nights Inc.)
When homeless residents request housing assistance from Keene, the city must help, even when shelters are full. As the number of New Hampshire’s homeless has grown, that has become increasingly expensive.
During the fiscal year that ended in June 2023, Keene spent $568,000 to provide housing to people who could not get a shelter bed, most often by providing vouchers for hotel stays, Mayor Jay Kahn said in an interview Monday. Come June, when the current fiscal year ends, the city will have spent more than twice as much, $1.2 million. It is tapping into its reserve funds to do so.
And the city’s shelter, Hundred Nights, has its own financial constraints. The state pays about $20 per day for each person given a bed, says Executive Director Mindy Cambiar. But the actual cost to provide that bed is around $58, Cambiar said.
“(We get) less than half of what we spend per night per person for all the services that are provided,” she said.
It’s a widespread problem. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, cities and towns are increasingly struggling with their statutory responsibility to provide housing to those who need it, especially as federal rental aid programs have ended. Some say the state should do more to pitch in.
“This is exceeding the expectations of any city in the state,” said Kahn.
This year, Senate lawmakers are moving ahead with legislation to boost funding to homeless shelters in the state. But experts and housing advocates say more funding and effort is needed to help reduce the number of people who might need them in the first place.
“We’re creating these shelters, but we’re not creating any more beds,” said Sen. Donovan Fenton, D-Keene.
Senate Bill 406, as originally introduced, was intended to be a comprehensive bill to help cities reduce homelessness. Sponsored by Fenton, the bill would have required that the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) create a pilot program to help create individualized service plans for families who are homeless. And the legislation would have devoted $5 million to the department to distribute to cities and towns for “eviction prevention, rehousing or shelter accommodation.”
After amendments by the Senate’s Health and Human Services Committee, the bill has since been changed to send $2.5 million to DHHS to raise the daily rate it pays to existing shelters in the state.
Shelter directors like Cambiar say they would appreciate the additional state funding. But Fenton and others say increasing funding to the shelters alone will not fix the root causes of homelessness, and will not add enough capacity to solve the crises. And they say cities will still be paying the cost for those who can’t get into the shelters.
The end of the emergency rental assistance program in early 2023, coupled with a persistently low vacancy rate and high prices for rental units, has pushed many to the brink of homelessness all at once, city officials say.
“We are meeting our statutory responsibilities at an unsustainably high cost to property taxpayers,” wrote Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais in a March letter to senators co-signed by nine other mayors, including Kahn, urging passage of the original SB 406. “We seek your support to lessening this cost and to finding equitable solutions that assist cities.”
The $2.5 million in the current iteration of the bill would allow the state to raise the per-day rate it pays shelters for each bed from the current $20 to $27. To Cambiar, the increase would help; the 48-bed shelter has been full almost every day since it opened in its new location last August. But it would not close the gap between what the state provides and what her shelter needs.
The shelter fills that gap through a mix of city funding, grant funding and private philanthropy. And Cambiar and her staff work hard to secure enough funding to create multiple months of reserves.
Lawmakers have helped. Years ago, the state paid only $8 per day, per bed. The current $20 per day came as part of a boost in funding for homeless shelters in the two-year budget passed in 2023. But Hundred Nights is facing a budget shortfall even with the increase.
“Right now, everybody — the board of directors and myself — we’ve been working overtime trying to figure out how we’re going to make up what is predicted to be the loss,” she said. “So I think that any additional funding would certainly be very helpful.”
To Kahn, a former Democratic state senator, the state should be spending more for shelter beds. But he said it should also be finding ways to alleviate the cost for cities, too. While Hundred Nights can use philanthropy and other sources to fill the gap, Keene City Hall has only its budget to provide its services.
“When the shelters are full, and there’s no option but to try to house the family in a hotel or some type of temporary condition, that burden shouldn’t fall exclusively to the municipalities,” he said.
Even those who want more state support for services to prevent homelessness admit that finding the right path forward is difficult.
As originally introduced, Fenton’s legislation gave broad latitude to the state on how best to spend the money to reduce homelessness. But early on, the Department of Health and Human Services had raised concerns about the distribution of money under the original bill. If the money were spread around to all cities and towns evenly, no one municipality would meaningfully benefit, Jenny O’Higgins, senior policy analyst for the department, said in an interview.
In order to better target the funds, DHHS and Fenton had considered instead using the “point-in-time count,” the annual night in January when DHHS oversees an attempt to calculate how many people are homeless that evening, and use it to spread the aid based on need.
Those discussions gave way to the Senate’s simpler approach: Direct all the money into the shelters. O’Higgins said that would help the shelters, even if the bill no longer includes funding for “upstream” services to reduce shelter use.
“As far as the department is concerned, an investment in homelessness services is good … regardless of where exactly along that continuum of care is invested,” O’Higgins said.
But she added that the state still needs a “multipronged approach” to address people in acute crisis.
“We need to serve people experiencing homelessness,” she said. “And at the same time, we need to be adequately looking at funding and having robust services for people who are at risk of homelessness.”
Not doing so, O’Higgins and others say, would simply cause the shelters to continue to overflow, no matter how much they grow.
“A shelter is not a long-term solution,” she said.
This story was originally produced by the New Hampshire Bulletin, an independent local newsroom that allows NH Business Review and other outlets to republish its reporting.
New Hampshire
Possible 2028 Democratic White House contenders weigh in on Iran with New Hampshire voters
As the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran overtakes the foreign policy debate in Washington, two Democratic governors with potential 2028 presidential aspirations — Gavin Newsom and Andy Beshear — recently traveled to New Hampshire, introducing themselves to the state’s famously engaged voters. The two weighed in on the war and both criticized and questioned President Trump’s strategy and endgame.
“If a president is going to take a country into war, and risk the lives of American troops and Americans in the region, he has to have a real justification and not one that seems to change every five to 10 hours,” Beshear told CBS News after a Democratic fundraiser in Keene.
“This President seems to use force before ever trying diplomacy, and he has a duty to sell it to the American people and to address Congress with it,” Beshear continued. “He hasn’t done any of that. In fact, it appears there isn’t even a plan for what success looks like. He’s gone from regime change to strategic objectives and now is talking about unconditional surrender, which isn’t realistic where he is.”
Beshear also said he thought that Congress should have reined in Mr. Trump’s war powers.
“He is trying to ignore Congress. He’s trying to even ignore the American people,” Beshear said.
He went on to note that the president’s State of the Union address took place “three — four days before he launched this attack,” and Mr. Trump “didn’t even have the respect to tell the American people the threat that he thought Iran posed to us.”
Last week, both the House and the Senate failed to pass resolutions to limit Mr. Trump’s war powers and stop him from taking further military action against Iran without congressional support.
For Newsom, the war with Iran constitutes part of a broader criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
At an event last Tuesday in Los Angeles, Newsom had compared Israel to an “apartheid state.” Later, in New Hampshire, he sought to clarify his comment.
“I was specifically referring to a Tom Friedman [New York Times] column last week, where Tom used that word of apartheid as it relates to the direction Bibi is going, particularly on the annexation of the West Bank,” Newsom explained during a book tour event Thursday night in Portsmouth. “I’m very angry, with what he is doing and why he’s doing it, what he’s going to ultimately try to do to the Supreme Court there, what he’s trying to do to save his own political career.”
Friedman wrote that at the same time that the U.S. and Israel are prosecuting a war in Iran, within Israel, Netanyahu’s government has undertaken efforts to annex the West Bank, driving Palestinians from their homes; fire the attorney general who is leading the prosecution against Netanyahu for corruption; and block the government’s attempt to establish a commission to examine the failures that led up to the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre of Jews by Hamas.
CBS News has reached out to the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., for comment.
On Iran, Newsom said, “I’m very angry about this war, with all due respect, you know, not because I’m angry the supreme leader is dead. Quite the contrary. I’m not naive about the last 37 years of his reign. Forty-seven years since ’79 — the revolution,” Newsom said. “But I’m also mindful that you have a president who still is inarticulate and incapable of giving us the rationale of why? Why now? What’s the endgame?”
Many attendees at Newsom’s book event said that the situation in Iran is a top-of-mind issue for them, too. Some said they’re “horrified” by what is happening.
29-year-old Alicia Marr told CBS News she decided to attend Newsom’s event because of his social media response to the war with Iran.
“There was one spot left, and I decided to pick it up, and it was due to his response to the war, that it is just unacceptable, and I would agree with that,” Marr said.
While some voters like Marr are eager to hear about where potential candidates stand on foreign policy, many at Newsom’s event said they care most about how potential candidates plan to address domestic issues.
“I’m more focused on getting the middle class back on track and fighting the oligarchy, and I’m less invested in international issues,” said Anita Alden, who also attended Newsom’s event,
“I wouldn’t call myself America first, but we have so many problems at home that are my priority,” she told CBS News.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris, who may also be weighing another White House bid, told Fox 2 Detroit last week that she “unequivocally opposes” the Trump administration’s military action in Iran and urged Congress to take action.
“If we want to stop Donald Trump with this random decision that he has arrived at, then Congress must act, and Congress must act immediately. The American people do not want our sons and daughters to go into this unauthorized war of choice,” Harris said.
Mr. Trump has lashed out against Democrats who have pushed back on his Iran strategy, calling them “losers” last week and arguing that they would criticize any decision he made on Iran.
“If I did it, it’s no good. If I didn’t do it, they would have said the opposite, that you should have done this,” the president said.
Local News
Police say the Attleboro man was driving 104 mph in a 55 mph zone on Route 202 near in Rindge, New Hampshire.
A Massachusetts man was arrested late Wednesday night after police say he was driving more than 100 mph on a New Hampshire roadway.
Officers with the Rindge Police Department stopped a vehicle shortly after 11 p.m. on Route 202 near Sears Drive in Rindge following a report of a car traveling at excessive speed, according to a statement from Chief Rachel Malynowski.
The vehicle, a 2020 Kia Stinger, was spotted traveling at 104 mph in a posted 55 mph zone, Malynowski said.
The driver, a 21-year-old man from Attleboro, was arrested and charged with reckless operation of a motor vehicle, according to police.
He is scheduled to be arraigned April 5. If convicted, the man faces a fine of at least $750, in addition to the court’s penalty assessment, and a 90-day license suspension, Malynowski said.
Alabama2 minutes ago
What to know about the Alabama man granted clemency two days before his execution
Alaska8 minutes ago
Alaska High School Girls Basketball 2026 ASAA State Championship Brackets – March 10
Arizona14 minutes ago
WATCH: How Helping One Woman provides hope and support with ‘Girl’s Night Out’
Arkansas20 minutes ago
Congressional subcommittee to hold hearing in Little Rock on ‘failures’ of local housing authority | Arkansas Democrat Gazette
Colorado32 minutes ago
Colorado residents should prepare for Xcel power outages this week as fire danger surges, utility says
Florida1 year ago
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Connecticut2 years ago
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
Oregon2 years ago
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
Virginia2 years ago
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Indiana2 years ago
Indiana Members Credit Union announced as new anchor tenant at Bottleworks District
News6 hours ago
Map: 2.3-Magnitude Earthquake Reported North of New York City
Politics7 hours ago
Trump stirs GOP primary drama with visit to Massie’s Kentucky home turf
World8 hours ago
Israeli air strike targets building in south Lebanon
News8 hours ago
Ed Martin, outspoken Justice Department lawyer, is formally accused of ethical violations | CNN Politics
Politics19 hours ago
Trump reveals top issues GOP should focus on to secure midterms victory: ‘I’ve never been more confident’
-
Wisconsin1 week agoSetting sail on iceboats across a frozen lake in Wisconsin
-
Massachusetts1 week agoMassachusetts man awaits word from family in Iran after attacks
-
Maryland1 week agoAM showers Sunday in Maryland
-
Pennsylvania5 days agoPa. man found guilty of raping teen girl who he took to Mexico
-
Florida1 week agoFlorida man rescued after being stuck in shoulder-deep mud for days
-
Detroit, MI5 days agoU.S. Postal Service could run out of money within a year
-
Miami, FL6 days agoCity of Miami celebrates reopening of Flagler Street as part of beautification project
-
Sports6 days agoKeith Olbermann under fire for calling Lou Holtz a ‘scumbag’ after legendary coach’s death