The Manchester Housing Commission heard an update from the mayor’s office on efforts to reduce veteran homelessness and discussed a possible short-term pilot to extend Manchester Transit Authority (MTA) bus service two hours later into the evening.

Jim from the mayor’s office said the city’s initiative to “effectively end veterans homelessness in the city of Manchester” has so far led to 53 identified veterans being housed. He added that the city’s engagement center has made “over 2,000 provider connections” since June and that 55 people connected through the shelter later found housing.

The councilors and commission members said those housing placements matter because improved transit and service access can affect residents’ ability to keep permanent housing. “I think it’s always good to see some successes on that front,” Commissioner Joe Wickerd said during the discussion.

On public transit, Jim said the MTA has 10 routes and that extending hours by roughly two hours would require negotiating with unionized drivers or paying overtime. He said two practical approaches are creating part-time positions to cover the extra hours or using overtime; the latter would be costly and risk driver burnout. Jim provided a ballpark pilot estimate of “around a $100,000” and said exact cost and timetable would depend on staffing decisions and union negotiations.

Commission members asked whether grants could offset the cost. Jim said the city’s grants coordinator, Kathleen, could explore potential grant funding and that he had spoken with MTA leadership. He stressed the pilot would not require new buses and would initially use existing routes and equipment.

No formal motion or vote took place. Commissioners asked staff to continue exploring options and potential grant sources and to bring back more detailed cost estimates and a proposed pilot timeline at a future meeting.

Ending: Commission members welcomed the update and noted the mayor’s housing and services efforts will intersect with several future agenda items, including zoning and development projects and grant applications for supportive services.