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Waypoint and advocates ask state for $500,000 a year to sustain Manchester youth shelter
Summary
Waypoint told the Finance Committee that its Manchester youth shelter — the only emergency shelter in New Hampshire for people aged 18–24 — operates at capacity and needs $500,000 annually to avoid closure; DHHS and mental-health advocates backed funding but budget placement remains unsettled.
Representative Mary Jane Wallner and Waypoint officials asked the Finance Committee to appropriate $500,000 per year to support the Waypoint Manchester Shelter, the only emergency shelter in the state specifically serving young adults aged 18 to 24.
Waypoint’s CEO Borja Álvarez de Toledo and program director Mandy Lancaster described the shelter’s operations and finances. The shelter, which opened in October 2022, has 14 beds and an attached engagement center. Waypoint said the shelter and engagement center provide case management, connections to housing and employment resources, transitional living programs and parenting supports. Lancaster said the programs are intended to reduce future chronic homelessness by intervening during the 18–24 age window.
Staff and witnesses described sharp demand: Waypoint reported serving 98 young adults in 2023 and 79 in 2024 at the shelter, and 163 youth through the drop-in center in the most recent year. Staff said the shelter has operated at capacity since opening and that, on average, the program turns away about 20 young people each night because beds are full. Waypoint officials said they need roughly $500,000 per year to sustain operations and that prior interim funding from the governor’s office covered part of costs but was not earmarked specifically for Waypoint in a manner that ensured ongoing support.
Katya Fox, director of the Division of Behavioral Health at the Department of Health and Human Services, told the committee the department supports the bill and will provide more detail during division hearings. Mental-health advocates (NAMI New Hampshire) and child-health advocates (New Futures) testified in favor, citing a link between stable housing and improved mental-health outcomes and prevention of adverse childhood experiences.
Committee members asked about existing funding, program sustainability and the relationship between Waypoint and DHHS. Waypoint officials said the shelter had been built using a capital campaign and a mix of public and private funds; operational funding has come from HUD, federal passthroughs and philanthropic support, and the governor provided interim funding in the prior budget cycle. Waypoint warned that without state support for the shelter the program could close when short-term funding expires.
The committee did not vote; members said the bill will go to division for a fuller discussion of budget options and DHHS involvement.
