Council On Housing Stability Releases Strategic Plan To End Homelessness In New Hampshire

Concord, NH – The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) announces the release of the Council on Housing Stability’s three-year Strategic Plan, which provides a roadmap to coordinate action and deploy resources to meet the housing needs of New Hampshire residents. Led by DHHS in partnership with the New Hampshire Department of Business and Economic Affairs and the Community Development Finance Authority, the plan seeks to increase housing availability by 13,500 units by 2024 to ensure that homelessness in New Hampshire is rare, brief and one-time whenever possible.

“With a clear vision and guiding principles, the Council has delivered a strategic plan – including a comprehensive statewide plan on homelessness – that represents a significant step forward in addressing housing stability in New Hampshire,” said Governor Chris Sununu. “The plan serves as a blueprint for our collective efforts – statewide, regionally, and locally – with a focus on alignment, coordination, innovation, and accountability. The end goal: creating improved health, social, educational and economic outcomes for individuals, families and communities.”

Addressing the lack of affordable housing is critical for New Hampshire’s future. The plan includes a three-year, comprehensive, actionable framework to specifically address homelessness across the State, with emphasis on the need for an increase in inventory of affordable housing. Recommendations outlined in the plan include promoting new housing development; reducing barriers to affordable housing; and using a data-driven approach to understand regional needs.

The plan represents six months of efforts by Council members and four working groups with strategic assistance provided by the Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH), a national technical assistance provider in housing policy. Grants from the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and Endowment for Health made support from CSH possible.

The strategic plan is available at https://nhchs.org/strategicplan/.

The New Hampshire Council on Housing Stability was established by Governor Chris Sununu under Executive Order 2020-22 on November 18, 2020, and includes stakeholders from across the state, including State leadership, local mayors, and people with lived experience. The Council expects to provide a report each November.