A new short-term housing program in Manchester is seeing a steady flow of people seeking safe housing and help getting back on their feet.
Pivot, an initiative from the organization Hope for New Hampshire Recovery, is a wrap-around service program with eight beds dedicated to people who are homeless or going through a behavioral health crisis.
Randy Stevens, executive director of Hope for New Hampshire Recovery, said the space is a place where people can have a reprieve from their challenges and be connected to resources.
“We figure out, ‘Ok do you need treatment for substance use? Is it a mental health crisis you’re through and you need some inpatient mental health treatment” Stevens said.
After an initial assessment, the Pivot case managers look for resources for housing or treatment that the client can access quickly. Clients can stay in the Pivot program for 30 days, but Stevens says they try to get people connected with inpatient or outpatient services by seven days into their stay.
The goal within that week is also to give people a safe place where they have emotional support from their peers and staff. That’s the kind of situation Stevens wished he’d had almost 10 years ago when he was homeless and struggling with substance use in Rochester.
“I was very much in need of a place like this and could not get help,” Steven said. “I was hiding in abandoned buildings. I was hiding behind people's homes and sheds and cars. I was doing whatever I could do to survive.”
The state awarded Hope for NH Recovery a contract to start the short-term crisis housing program this year, and it’s been running the program at full capacity since the end of September. The floor is staffed by peer-support specialists 24/7, and it served 232 people in that first full month operating. The program already had to turn away 45 people who were looking for beds during times the program was at capacity.
“Unfortunately there's a greater need than we have the capacity for,” Stevens said.
People can get help accessing resources or connecting with Pivot by calling 211, 988 or connect with their local Doorway program.
