The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services says that homelessness has dropped by 3 percent since last year.
The numbers are from an annual one-day count on January 25th that targeted welfare offices, homeless shelters, soup kitchens and other organizations. According to Maureen Ryan of the Bureau of Homeless and Housing Services, it’s the first time in a decade that homelessness has fallen in New Hampshire.
Ryan attributes some of the drop to stimulus funds targeted to homeless programs.
"That additional money was a real shot in the arm for homeless service providers to be able to provide additional service for people who were homeless or becoming homeless and to actually divert people out of shelter," Ryan says.
The count showed 2,438 homeless individuals in the state. 405 were members of families, which is the same number that were homeless last year.
