By BOB MARTIN
Eagle Times Staff
CLAREMONT, N.H. — Claremont Public Welfare Director Suzanne Carr met with the Claremont City Council on Wednesday to ask for the welfare budget to be overspent by up to $175,000 to meet statutory obligations, and it was approved with a 9-0 vote.
It is a tough time financially for many people across the nation and Claremont is no exception, and this means that the city’s Welfare Department has been hard at work in assisting those in need.
“Across the state, the ongoing housing crisis continues to bust local budgets,” Carr said. “Last year, cities of Nashua, Rochester and Concord were all over budget by $100,000, Manchester by $200,000 and Keene by nearly a million dollars.”
She said that RSA 165 mandates that municipalities assist anyone who is eligible regardless of their budget amounts, and since July the Public Welfare Office has had 57% of its contacts related to at-risk or outright homelessness.
“We have had to motel 25 households thus far at a cost of $120,000. Shelters around the state remain at capacity, as do the warming shelters. The warming shelter here in town has been at capacity nearly every night since its opening on Jan. 1. It’s slated to close at the end of the month, so we don’t know what’s going to come after that.
She said that the availability of the warming shelter over the last three months has saved the city an “indeterminate amount,” but most importantly due to the temperatures of this winter, it also most likely saved lives.
Carr told the council that the fastest growing segments of the homeless population are senior citizens and people over 50 who are disabled. She explained that these are especially difficult populations to house because there can be health and mobility issues that are difficult for shelters to accommodate.
“These folks are also priced out of the current rental market, yet they’re unable to secure income-based housing due to waitlists and other barriers,” Carr said. “Two bedroom rents in Sullivan County have increased 40% since 2019. The median cost is now over $1,400 per month for two bedroom.”
She said that, in contrast the highest SSI benefit is $900 for an individual, and the average social security disability benefit is $1,500 per month. The average social security retirement benefit is $1,900 per month.
Studies have shown that a resident renting a two-bedroom home in Sullivan County would need to have a yearly salary of $57,000 per year, which is about $20,000 greater than the current median income.
“Our department does everything in its power to keep people in their current housing whenever possible,” Carr said. “It is cheaper for us to pay market rent than it is to pay for a motel while folks are either searching for a new unit or waiting for a shelter bed to open. Both can take several weeks to several months. It also becomes exponentially more difficult for someone to find an apartment if they have an eviction on their record.”
These factors have all contributed to her budget line item being in the red since last December, and this is why she was there to request overspending the budget.
Mayor Dale Girard commended her for being “very gracious” but said he can tell the future could be difficult especially with the warming shelter closing in a little more than two weeks. Girard asked if it has gotten worse, and Carr said it has been a “bumpy ride all year.”
“I just know that looking at your budget, you’re not asking for extra to cover your costs at this point by any means,” Girard said. “Thank you for what you do.”
