Rental assistance

New Hampshire has received nearly $3.6 million from the U.S. Department of Treasury through the Emergency Rental Assistance program to assist New Hampshire renters with rent and other housing expenses, including energy and utility costs. According to a press release, the supplemental funds were allotted in response to an appeal made by the New Hampshire congressional delegation in October after the U.S. Treasury announced that New Hampshire would not receive additional resources to continue the program beyond Dec. 29, and New Hampshire Housing was forced to put the program on pause. “The housing crisis continues to be a top challenge facing Granite Staters, with particularly brutal consequences during the intense winter season,” U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, who led the delegation, said in the release. More than $230 million in assistance was provided to more than 23,000 households across the state through the Emergency Rental Assistance Program from when it was launched in March 2021 to when it was put on pause in October 2022. Visit nhhfa.org/emergency-rental-assistance for updates and to apply for assistance.

Covid detection

Data from New Hampshire’s wastewater surveillance for detecting Covid levels is now available to the public on a new online dashboard at covid19.nh.gov/wastewater-surveillance. Because the virus can be shed in wastewater, viral fragments in community-wide samples collected from wastewater treatment facilities can be used to track trends in levels of the virus over time. The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services’ Division of Public Health

Services launched the program in December as a potential tool to monitor the virus in New Hampshire communities and issue earlier warnings to the public about rising levels, according to a press release. The dashboard cautions against using the current data to inform public health as several months of data are required for accurate interpretation and establishing trends.

New shelters

Manchester homelessness initiatives are working to open two 24-hour emergency shelters following the City’s eviction of a large homeless encampment at Manchester and Pine streets that left about 50 people with nowhere to live, WMUR reported. The YCWA will oversee the reopening of the Tirrell House on Brook Street to provide 14 to 16 beds for women, and the City will oversee the other shelter, which will provide 40 beds for men and women. The City-run shelter is expected to be open until April while the YCWA is seeking to keep the Tirrell House open permanently. The City set up a temporary warming station at the William Cashin Senior Activity Center on Douglas Street in early January, and that operation will be moved to the City-run shelter once the shelter opens, according to the article.

Hiring freeze

Dartmouth Health, New Hampshire’s largest private employer, has instituted a hiring freeze and plans to conduct a job review process as it looks to close a $120 million budget gap by the end of September, NHPR reported. All open positions at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center and the Dartmouth Hitchcock Clinics, as well as job changes, such as employee transfers, adjustments, promotions and filling positions after an employee leaves, will be subject to review. The system currently employs about 12,000 people and had more than 1,000 job openings listed last month, most of which were for nursing and allied health positions.

Back to normal

The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services has announced that Medicaid eligibility and enrollment will resume regular, pre-pandemic operations beginning on April 1, according to a press release. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act has allowed all Medicaid recipients to retain their health coverage during the pandemic since March 2020. In the coming months, the Department will be reaching out to those approximately 102,000 beneficiaries currently protected under this coverage to assess their eligibility to continue being covered by Medicaid beyond April 1. “It will be important for Medicaid beneficiaries to watch their mail, email and texts for notices from DHHS and complete their Medicaid renewals in order to avoid a gap in their health coverage,” DHHS Medicaid Director Henry Lipman said in the release.

Tea Talks

The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire’s 2023 Elinor Williams Hooker Tea Talks Series, titled “Bringing it Back: Conversations We Still Need,” begins with its first program, “Before European Contact: Changing the Ways We Present Our History,” on Sunday, Feb. 5, from 2 to 3:30 p.m., virtually and in person at the Portsmouth Public Library (175 Parrott Ave.). According to a press release, the talks explore the history and lived experience surrounding current issues in the Black, Indigenous, People of Color community and provide a safe space for conversation about race, equity, social justice and belonging. Other talks in the series will include “The Paradox of Education for Black and Brown Children” on Feb. 12; “Beyond Forty Acres: Land Ownership and Black Wealth” on Feb. 19; “Shades of Black: Connected by Color, Culture, and Community” on Feb. 26; “Exploring the Heart of Cross-Racial Conversation” on March 5; and “Youth to Power: Black Female Activists” on March 12. Registration is required. Visit blackheritagetrailnh.org/elinor-williams-hooker-tea-talks-2023.

Meredith Village Savings Bank has donated $10,000 to the Meredith Sculpture Walk (meredithsculpturewalk.org) for the walk’s 10th year. According to a press release, this year’s walk will feature more than 30 sculptures. The sculptures can be seen year-round in downtown Meredith.

A new state historical highway marker has been placed on Route 9 in Barrington noting “The Balch Household Graves.” According to a press release, the reinterred gravesites in Pine Grove Cemetery are that of Rev. Benjamin Balch (1743–1815), the first chaplain of the Continental Navy, and a formerly enslaved woman named Aggie (ca. 1740–c.1840), who became known as the town nurse. A map of New Hampshire’s historical highway markers is available at nh.gov/nhdhr.

SEE Science Center presents Science on Tap on Tuesday, Feb. 7, at 6 p.m. at Stark Brewing Co. in Manchester (500 Commercial St.). The topic will be the present and future of organ transplants. Nick Rinella, associate scientist at the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute in Manchester, will be a panelist. Admission is free. RSVP at see-sciencecenter.org/adults.