City staff told the Manchester Board of Mayor & Aldermen that state and federal funding for a 40-bed shelter and the adjacent engagement center is scheduled to end Aug. 31, leaving the city without a known winter-warming alternative and raising questions about care for medically vulnerable residents.

A city staff member leading the presentation said the shelter at 39 Beech (capacity 40) currently includes 14 people described as "medically compromised," 21 people with chronic health conditions and 20 people with physical disabilities. The staff member reported that 13 percent of residents are over age 65; eight use wheelchairs; two have leg amputations; one uses a walker; and two use oxygen.

The engagement center, the staff member said, is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and serves roughly 40 to 50 unique individuals daily. Over the previous 12 months, the engagement center recorded 55 people who found housing, 47 instances of obtaining vital documents, 38 referrals into detox, and 17 people who obtained employment. A separate veterans initiative launched in September has housed 53 veterans, the staff member said.

Nut graf: The coming funding lapse matters because the winter-warming function provided by the engagement center — described by staff as an effort in "fatality prevention" — has no identified replacement. If funding ends, the city’s welfare department could face the responsibility of sheltering people whose state and federal support stops, officials said.

Board members pressed staff on capacity and medical care. A staff member said New Hampshire has 74 medical-respite or nursing facilities statewide but reported no immediately available beds and wait lists of eight to 12 months for such placements. "The capacity right now does not exist to take care of them," the presenter said.

Aldermen asked whether the city could track the long-term outcomes of people placed from the engagement center — for example, whether those housed remain in housing and which employers hired formerly unhoused people. The staff member said additional tracking could be provided.

Several aldermen raised neighborhood impacts tied to a low-barrier shelter model and asked whether the shelter would remain low-barrier. A staff member said building and lease discussions related to alternatives would be discussed in nonpublic session because they involve contract and lease terms.

The board and staff discussed legal and fiscal responsibilities. A staff member said that under RSA 165 (New Hampshire welfare law) the city is required to provide assistance to those eligible; failing to provide that assistance could expose the city to lawsuits. Board members also discussed changes to state law that can affect whether sending municipalities remain financially responsible when they place people in hotels in Manchester.

Ending: City officials said they plan further work on alternatives and lease talks in nonpublic session and will return to public meeting records after those discussions. Staff recommended compiling additional outcome and placement data for aldermen. No final decision about continuing shelter funding in the absence of state and federal dollars was made during the public portion of the meeting.