FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 6, 2021 Contact: Derek Dufresne [email protected] 603-860-7781 Victoria Sullivan Announces Comprehensive Plan to Deal with the Homeless Crisis in Manchester Manchester, NH - Victoria Sullivan, a former New Hampshire State Representative and Assistant Majority Leader who served two terms on the House Education Committee, issued the following statement on her comprehensive plan to deal with the ever-worsening homeless crisis in Manchester: "Homelessness and other quality-of-life issues have exploded into public awareness in Manchester over the last 4 years. From panhandling to graffiti, to basic measures to ensure all Manchester residents can enjoy the city they live in, work in, and visit, Mayor Craig has simply not demonstrated results in confronting these challenges. We must do better for the future of the Queen City. 'Today, I am rolling out a comprehensive plan to combat this multi-tiered issue once-and-for-all. I give credit to other municipalities in New Hampshire like our neighbors to the south, the City of Nashua, for their very successful efforts to deal with homelessness in their cities and towns. Yes, homelessness is a very challenging issue. However, not confronting the problem at all, or putting "band-aids" on it, will not make the situation any better. This has been the Joyce Craig strategy. It has not worked, and we're living with the consequences every single day. Here is a summary of the Sullivan plan in four key parts: Addressing the Substance Abuse Component Build a coalition of non-profits, faith-based groups, veterans organizations, and private organizations that are currently doing the work on our streets. Give them the opportunity to share best practices, develop a mission statement and objectives as one body. Collect and share data to find where our gaps in services and resources are. Working together is the only way we will solve substance abuse treatment. Collaborate with state and regional partners so one municipality is not overrun with demand for substance treatment and services. Manchester bears the burden for offering substance abuse services to those outside of Manchester, and sometimes even for folks outside New Hampshire. The city must work with state and regional partners to address this issue, not only because of demand, but because of those in treatment who then experience regression. Lowering Housing Costs: Improving the Housing Market for Lower Incomes Incentivize home buyers to purchase and occupy multi-family homes. Provide tax incentives for builders to build multi-family homes and apartment buildings. Remove unnecessary regulations that hinder renovation or construction of homes that could be used for transitional housing, low-income housing, or owner-occupied multi-family homes. Create private/public partnerships with smaller hotels to incentive them to convert their use to single apartments/condos and to recreate some empty spaces. This model has worked successfully in New Mexico and some other parts of the country. Maintaining Shelters/Building Transitional Housing + Improving Quality and Livability Maintain the condition and cleanliness of the shelters to a high standard. The conditions in the shelters are constantly being stated as being below reasonable standards. Shelters should be clean and welcoming to encourage those in need to stay there instead of on the streets. Also having transitional residents take responsibility for the shelter gives a sense of pride in where they are staying. Ensure safety. Many of our homeless do not feel safe in shelters because of previous abuse. This cannot be tolerated. We need to create a line of communication between the homeless citizens and City Hall so that issues may be addressed quickly. Provide valuable point-of-care assistance to the population in shelters to immediately move them to transitional housing. This is a key point in the process for getting folks back on their feet. Utilize the Sununu Center or unused city buildings to provide transitional housing for the end of the transition process. Operate transitional homes with the idea of using residents' success stories to encourage those on the streets and in encampments to start the upward process from homelessness. For many who are homeless, just starting the process of building back to self-sufficiency can seem daunting, but the positive stories from others can be motivating. Support Law Enforcement Efforts Hold all citizens in Manchester to the same set of rules and standards of behavior. There can't be a set of rules for the homeless vs. the housed. Current leadership binds the hands of our law enforcement officers to secure the public safety, especially in our downtown. Enforce laws already on the books regarding loitering, camping, and public trash disposal. Coordinate with our business owners and employees to ensure that the area surrounding their businesses are safe and open to pedestrian traffic as well as safe places of employment. Regardless of the season, a significant presence of downtown beat officers will be the only way for both city and regional residents to feel safe downtown. Enforce all the laws on the books, but do so in a way that understands the complexity of the issue at hand. Beat officers should be able to balance strictly enforcing the law, while having the assistance of the coordinated group of homeless outreach organizations to take individual cases from there. "I am excited to present this plan to voters as I am fighting hard to make Manchester shine again. Of the quality-of-life issues that Manchester faces, the homeless crisis is one that has a cyclical effect that constantly presents new quality-of-life challenges. Dealing with homelessness in the Queen City will improve so many aspects of our livability: from our economy, to tourism, to future growth. As I travel around the city on the campaign trail, I look forward to discussing my homeless plan in detail and highlighting all the ways it will aid our beloved city." ABOUT VICTORIA SULLIVAN Victoria Sullivan understands what hardworking middle-class Manchester families need out of City Hall because she is one of them. As a wife and stay-at-home mother of two, Victoria and her husband are proud to be raising their two sons on Manchester's south end. Her commitment has always been and will continue to be based on making our communities a better place for our families and for future generations who will call the Queen City home. As a former New Hampshire State Representative and Assistant Majority Leader who served two terms on the House Education Committee, fighting for Manchester families is at the core of Victoria's journey in public service. She worked hard in Concord to keep spending low, while also ensuring that citizens received the quality services their hard-earned tax dollars pay for. One of her proudest accomplishments was her work on legislation that gave parents a stronger voice in their children's education. Through bi-partisan support, Victoria got play-based kindergarten passed into law. That law has been enthusiastically embraced by the early education educators across New Hampshire and used as an example for other states throughout our nation. Victoria truly has a history of commitment to our city. She started a volunteer-run drama club at her children's elementary school, has coached and volunteered for South Soccer, South Little League, and Highland Goffe's-Falls Basketball. She served as the PTA president for her children's elementary school, which in turn lead to her service on the New Hampshire PTA executive board. As a testament to her concern about our children's future, she has spent countless hours volunteering for Manchester schools as a teacher's helper and as a substitute teacher at a charter school. In addition to running for mayor of Manchester in 2019, Victoria has also served as Selectman for Ward 9 and on the Manchester Heritage Commission, where she focused on preserving our city's past, while also seeking to prepare it for the future. ### Paid for by Friends of Victoria Sullivan. Ray Hebert, Treasurer. P.O. Box 4301, Manchester, NH 03108 www.VictoriaSullivanforMayor.com ‌ ‌ Friends of Victoria Sullivan | PO Box 4301, Manchester, NH 03108 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected] powered by Try email marketing for free today!