City Councilors approve funding of seasonal homeless shelter through April 1

The shelter at 30 Willand Drive in Somersworth (Courtesy photo)

ROCHESTER - Rochester city councilors on Tuesday unanimously approved a seven-day-a-week homeless shelter in Somerswoth that will serve the Tri-City homeless through April 1, but it will cost city taxpayers no more than the proposed extreme weather shelter already approved.

No additional city money will be required because funding from the NH Emergency Rental Assistance Program, which provides financial assistance for New Hampshire renters who cannot pay their rent and utilities during the pandemic, will cover the difference.

So now, instead of being open when emergency response chiefs in the Tri-Cities deem it necessary due to frigid temperatures, it will be open Monday-Friday from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. and 24 hours a day on weekends.

The discussion by City Councilors, Rochester City Manager Blaine Cox and Community Action Partnership CEO Betsey Andrews Parker did not include an explanation of how the hours were drafted or whether weekday hours would be expanded due to extreme daytime temps Monday through Friday.

The city had already proposed the extreme weather shelter as it had functioned the past several years, but in the past week Dover and Somersworth approved the seasonal model, which runs through April 1, 2022.

Shelter organizers estimate they will serve around 30 clients a night through April 1 at a per-person cost $9,700 at the low-barrier shelter. Low barrier means they will turn no one away, including those with drug and mental health issues.

The shelter's operating budget is listed as $276,000 with $172,000 allocated to pay salaries and benefits for full- and part-time employees.