What causes homelessness? 

Several issues, insufficient affordable housing, low wages, poverty and unemployment are the biggest causes. Domestic violence very often adds children to that situation. Those who do experience homelessness usually live in temporary shelters, transitional housing, “couch surf” (bouncing from one friend’s place to another) or stay in places not safe for or even considered as housing (i.e. abandoned buildings, cars, wooded areas).

Sadly, there are thousands of homeless people here in New Hampshire; an accurate count is challenging to keep as not everyone can be accounted for. For a better idea of current statistics, click on this link Homelessness in New Hampshire: Shelters, resources, statistics (wmur.com)

The end of last month saw legislation passed unanimously in the United States Senate on a bill that would extend the loan window from two years to five years, for the United States Dept. of Agriculture’s (USDA) Section 524 Rural Housing site loan program. This program distributes loans to local and tribal governments in addition to non-profits. The loans aid in the purchase of land to then be sub-divided and developed into future building sites for those of low and moderate income. This bill will give a little more wiggle room and breathing space for borrowers. The bipartisan legislation was proposed by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Mn) and Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Ks).

Additionally, Sen. Shaheen was instrumental, along with NH’s congressional delegation, in acquiring for our state, over $350 million in Emergency Rental Assistance Funds along with $50 million in Homeowner Assistance Funds. 

On Jan. 31, a press release from Rep. Annie Kuster announced federal grants for NH organizations in the amount of $12,838,362. These particular organizations provide financial aid for housing and provide support services for those who are homeless. The grants are made available through the United States Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Continuum of Care (CoC) Program, working with local and state governments and non-profits. Their goal is to rapidly (as possible) provide housing for domestic violence victims, families, individuals, sexual assault and stalking victims as well as young students.

Thanks to our elected officials in the House and Senate, along with policies put into place by the Biden administration, this federal funding will be beneficial for those who find themselves in need of safe, secure housing along with much needed resources.

Last budget season there was a big debate in the NH legislature about putting $1.4 million in the budget for the Northen Border Alliance Task Force Basically, it was money set aside to pay the state police overtime to help the feds patrol the northern border area - not that the feds had requested it.

But it was an emergency! To hear Governor Sununu tell it, hordes of people were coming over our remote section of the border with Canada, and something had to be done. Nobody was really sure of the size of the hoards, but it was a big problem, definitely.

The ACLU eventually got the Border Patrol to provide a count on how many border apprehensions we are talking about for this state. In the 15 months ending December 31, 2023, the number of migrants encountered by border control agents was 21. 

21 people in 10 stops.

An average of 0.67 stops, per month, on New Hampshire's northern border. 

Yeah, hoards. 

Great use of state resources there, Governor.

Dr. Marie S. Metoyer was not only New Hampshire’s first female psychiatrist, but also the first African-American psychiatrist in the state. This is her (brief) story:

Marie was born in 1925 in Jersey City, New Jersey. After graduating from Fordham University, summa cum laude, she continued her education at Cornell Medical School at the age of twenty. Marie was one of a handful of women there and went on to become the first African-American female to graduate from Cornell.

During her time at the medical school, she met her future husband, Victor Metoyer Jr., an architectural draftsman/artist. Victor was from Nebraska and was stationed in New York City as this was during the second World War. They married, had five children and relocated to Jersey City.

While back in NJ, from 1952-1968 Dr. Metoyer took over her mother’s gynecology and obstetrics practice. From 1968-1972, she attended the University of Vermont in pursuit of a residency in psychiatry, eventually getting a Fellowship in Community and Child Psychiatry. She practiced in Vermont from 1972-1981, the only psychiatrist in the Northeast Kingdom. 

In 1981, Victor and Marie moved to Manchester, NH where Marie first worked from 1981-85 as a psychiatrist at Manchester Mental Health. She then went on to become “Clinical Director of the Day Program” from 1985-96 at the same facility. Along with specializing in community mental health, her many other achievements were as follows:

• Chairperson of the Women’s Committee of NH Psychiatric Society 1990-92
• Member of Ethics Committee of the NH Psychiatric Society 1990-95, and 1999
• Held memberships in several national psychiatric organizations.

After retiring in 1996, Marie busied herself by promoting African-American heritage, black scholarship, cultural diversity, racial equality, women’s rights and the fine arts. She received the “Susan B. Anthony” Award in 2002 from the Manchester YWCA. In 2007, New Hampshire Magazine named her a member of the “It” list along with Nabil Migali for their multi-cultural work in reviving People Fest. The following year, Marie received the Martin Luther King award from the MLK Coalition. She was honored by Senator Jeanne Shaheen in 2012 for her years of dedication and service to the people of NH. Marie also found time to be an active member of the New England chapter of the African American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS).

As an interesting aside, Gabriel Coakley, Marie’s great-grandfather and a freed slave, played a vital part in the founding of St. Augustine Church in Washington, D.C. during the Civil War. The church is thought to be the "Mother Church of Black Catholics”, the first Black parish in the district and administrator of DC's oldest surviving Black school.

Dr. Marie S. Metoyer passed away at the Community Hospice House in Merrimack on March 17, 2020 at the age of 94. We salute this intelligent, trail-blazing, and dedicated woman of medicine.

On Thursday, February 1, three bills addressing abortion were defeated in the New Hampshire House. 

CACR 23 was sponsored by Rep. Amanda Toll (D-Keene), whose bill would have protected abortion rights up to 24 weeks, by adding an amendment to the state constitution. Abortion is presently banned after 24 weeks, except in the case of a deadly abnormality in the fetus or the health of the mother is in jeopardy. Three-fifths of a majority vote was needed for a constitutional amendment but still wasn’t enough even with a 193-184 majority win. 

Rep. David Testerman (R-Franklin) had sponsored House Bill 1248, which was meant to institute a 15-day abortion ban. Most mothers would attest to the fact they had no idea they were pregnant at barely two weeks, this one included! This legislation was “indefinitely postponed” by a vote of 363-11.

Rep. Testerman continued with his losing streak by sponsoring House Bill 1541 which aimed to hinder abortion access after 15 weeks. This legislation would have required an abortion take place at a hospital that has a premature birth intensive care unit along with another doctor in attendance. This too, failed with a voice vote.

For those who don’t know, there are just two hospitals in NH with an intensive care unit for premature babies or neonatals, Dartmouth Hospital in Lebanon and Eliot Hospital in Manchester.

In the Senate, Sen. Debra Altschiller (D-Stratham) has proposed Senate Bill 575. This bill aims to forbid NH officials from collaborating with others from out-of-state who want to curtail birth control and abortion. The Senator is also the sponsor of CACR 24, a constitutional amendment which proposes to add language to protect the right of an individual to reproductive autonomy.

Stay tuned, the fight for women’s reproductive rights are far from over in New Hampshire!

Can you imagine not being able to legally drive from one state to another if you needed to? Most of us wouldn’t even think twice about it as we’re so close to Vermont, Massachusetts and Maine, easily driving in and out of those states, along with other states not as close but within driving distance. 

Now imagine being an undocumented individual with a valid driver’s license from, say, Vermont, who drove into New Hampshire.  You and I wouldn’t even think an arrest or possible deportation would be the result of such an action. Yet, here we go again with the NH legislature targeting undocumented immigrants for something as harmless as an out-of-state driver’s license!

On Tues. Jan. 23, a hearing was held on a bill that was first introduced the previous week whose sole goal is to invalidate out-of-state driver's licenses issued to undocumented immigrants. Just to be clear, beginning with Washington state in 1993, 18 states and DC have since allowed undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses. Each of these states have similar stipulations that go along with the driver’s license. For example:

New Jersey law creates two types of licenses, the federally accepted REAL ID and a Standard Basic license, available to any New Jersey resident regardless of immigration status. The law also prohibits discrimination against people with Standard Basic licenses.

Utah law issues a “driving privilege” card to undocumented immigrants who can prove Utah residency. The card is different from a regular driver’s license by format, color, or other visual means and is clearly marked with “FOR DRIVING PRIVILEGES ONLY–NOT VALID FOR IDENTIFICATION.” The card may not be used for government identification and is valid for one year.

Maryland law permits people without social security numbers to obtain a driver’s license if they have filed a Maryland tax return or were claimed as a dependent of someone who filed a Maryland tax return for the previous two years. The driver’s license must have a design or color to distinguish it from other driver’s licenses and identification cards, may not be used for federal identification purposes, and may not be used to purchase a firearm.

There are also several city governments, such as San Francisco, CA, New Haven, CT, and Asbury Park, NJ, who will issue photo identification cards to undocumented residents. These ID cards are not to be used as driver’s licenses.

Here in New Hampshire, eight Republican state senators and two Republican state representatives recently introduced SB358. This bill will give the state the right to invalidate these out-of-state licenses. Should the bill pass, if a law enforcement officer stops a driver with an “invalid” license, the officer could charge the driver with a Class B misdemeanor of “driving without a license.” 

Seriously??!

People who receive these licenses from other states, including those who are undocumented, must pass road test exams, have driver identification, and often maintain car insurance. Not to different from NH requirements for drivers.

This proposed bill is just another way of targeting undocumented people. Have something to say about this? Tell your state senator to defeat it. They need to hear from us.

Tomorrow is the “First-in-the-Nation” Primary where we go to our individual polling places and vote for who we think will do the best job in leading our nation and preserving our democracy. So, in honor of that I thought I’d share a little White House history.

John Adams became the first president to reside at the White House, which was completed in 1800. Barely fourteen years later, on Aug. 24, 1814, British troops set the White House on fire in what became known as the Burning of Washington. This took place during the War of 1812. First Lady Dolley Madison managed to save a full length portrait of George Washington along with a small wooden medicine chest, both of which are on display to this day. Repairs were undertaken and the building was fully restored in 1817.

On Christmas Eve in 1929, the White House experienced fire again. During a Christmas party, aides to Pres. Herbert Hoover discovered a fire in a storage area around 8:00 that evening. Roughly 200,000 government pamphlets were stored there. Upon learning of the fire, the president and his aides went to the executive offices and retrieved the desk chair, a presidential flag and numerous documents. By 10:30pm, the fire had been extinguished, leaving the press room destroyed and some offices damaged. Repairs were completed by the spring of 1930.

In 1916, New Hampshire held what would eventually become the first in the nation primary. Throughout the years voters have gone out to personally listen to those who aim for the nation’s highest office and the policy ideas (or lack of) they propose. This year is no different other than our very democracy is on the line, along with women’s rights, LGBTQ rights, and (one of the most important) voting rights! As Granny D once famously stated, “Democracy is not something we have, it is something we do.” 

Be sure to take the time tomorrow to exercise that right to democracy, don’t take it for granted as it is now being threatened. 

According to EVERYTOWN for Gun Safety in 2023 the following gun safety bills were not passed by the New Hampshire House of Representatives: 
HB32- would have prohibited guns in schools or on school grounds. New Hampshire is one of three states where guns continue to be allowed on school grounds and buildings. 
HB59 – would have required background checks on all gun sales, which NH does not have. Instead, we still have a loophole allowing persons who are prohibited by law from owning guns to buy them with no background check and no questions asked. That would be from unlicensed sellers, which includes gun shows and online purchases. 
HB106 – would have made “Extreme Risk Protective Orders” available in New Hampshire. This would have been a temporary restriction to a person’s access to guns should a civil court judge determine they are a serious danger of using a gun to hurt themselves or others. The bill surprisingly passed in both chambers last year, but the governor vetoed it. This bill would have helped in identifying warning signs before any possible gun violence tragedy took place. Did you know? Almost 90% of gun deaths in NH are by suicide.

Something else a lot of us probably didn’t know, gun violence costs NH $2.2 billion each year. Of that amount, $22.4 million is paid by us, the taxpayers. Also, here in NH during any average year, 141 people die from guns. Nationally, the number is just under 50,000, a year!

Now, moving along to 2024 a new gun violence prevention bill is making its way through the NH Senate. SB577 would require a 72-hour waiting period between purchasing a gun and then taking possession of it. The goal of the proposed bill is for those people who may find themselves in a state of intense agitation or anger some extra time to “cool off.” In that 72-hour waiting period, gun violence to themselves or someone else could, quite possibly, be avoided. 

There are some exceptions to the bill; corrections and police officers, hunters, and members of the military. An exception for those who are in fear for their safety and have a restraining order and those who have voiced fear for their personal safety to police. 

Right now, the bill is being heard before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The committee will eventually schedule a vote on whether to recommend the legislation to the full Senate.

Could 2024 be the year when NH finally begins to take gun violence prevention seriously? 

In honor of Martin Luther King Day, on Monday, here is a selection from my book, GENOCIDE: The Shameful, Unspoken History Of Crimes Against Humanity In The United States.

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Martin Luther King Jr. was born on Jan. 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. He was educated during the time of segregated public schools, graduating at the age of 15 from high school. While at Morehouse College in Atlanta, King studied law and medicine, receiving a BA degree in 1948. It was then on to Pennsylvania to study theology at Crozer Theological Seminary. There he was elected president of the primarily White senior class. In 1951, he received a Bachelor of Divinity degree from Crozer, prompting him to pursue graduate studies at Boston University. In Boston, he received his doctorate in 1953 and a degree in systematic theology in 1955. 

        It was in Boston where King met a young student from New England Conservatory of Music named Coretta Scott. They married in 1953 and had four children.

        Returning to Montgomery, Al., King became pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, while continuing to advocate for civil rights and equality for all Black people. He believed in non-violent, peaceful protests. King had become a member of the executive committee of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). 

        Rosa Parks, a secretary for the local NAACP chapter, had refused to give up her bus seat in Montgomery to a White person on Dec. 1, 1955. While that refusal got her arrested, activists were busy organizing a bus boycott. The Montgomery bus boycott lasted more than 380 days, placing economic strains on both business owners and the bus system. During this time of boycott, King was arrested, his home firebombed in Jan., 1956 and he had become a target for White supremacists. On Dec. 21, 1956, the Supreme Court declared laws requiring segregated bussing as unconstitutional. 

Between the years 1957 and 1968, King travelled around the country and the world, speaking about civil rights, civil disobedience and nonviolent protest. He lectured more than twenty-five hundred times, meeting with activists, political and religious leaders. In 1957, King and other civil rights activists, founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). This group is committed to gaining full equality for Black people through nonviolent protest.

       In 1958, King survived an assassination attempt. On Sept. 20, he was signing books at a department store in Harlem when a woman named Izola Ware Curry asked if he was indeed Martin Luther King. When he answered in the affirmative, Curry proceeded to stab him in the chest with a letter opener. The attack left King even more determined to advocate for nonviolence, stating, “The experience of these last few days has deepened my faith in the relevance of the spirit of nonviolence, if necessary social change is peacefully to take place.” 

       Curry, eventually diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, died in 2015, after having spent the rest of her life going from various psychiatric hospitals, residential care facilities and nursing homes.

       In April 1963, King led a large-scale protest in Birmingham, Al., which led to his arrest. It was while he was in jail that he wrote his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” a civil rights manifesto. Today, this manifesto of his philosophy and strategies is required reading at many universities worldwide. In addition to organizing drives in Alabama to register Blacks to vote, he led the peaceful 1963 March on Washington. It was here he gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech before a crowd of 250,000 people. That same year King was named Time magazine’s “Man of the Year.” In 1964, at thirty-five years of age, he received the Nobel Peace Prize, the youngest man at that time to have done so. He gave the prize money, ($54,123) to advance the civil rights movement he so passionately believed in. 

       Working with fellow civil rights and religious groups, King helped in the organization of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. This was a non-violent political rally showcasing the continuous inequalities Black Americans faced nationwide. The event was attended by roughly two hundred thousand to three hundred thousand people and is considered to have played a significant part in the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In Aug., 1965, the Voting Rights Act was passed, assuring the right to vote to all Black Americans. The intention of this bill was to prevail over legal barriers at state and local levels that were preventing Black Americans from exercising their right to vote, which was guaranteed to them by the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution in 1870. It was signed into law by Pres. Lyndon Johnson.

       Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968. He was in Memphis, Tenn. to support a strike by sanitation employees, when he was shot and killed as he stood on the balcony of a motel. Soon after his death, Pres. Johnson declared a national day of mourning. And so ended to soon, the life of a man who sought by peaceful protest only, equal human rights for Black Americans, those who were disadvantaged economically and victims of injustice.

       In 1983, Pres. Ronald Reagan signed a bill declaring every third Monday in January as Martin Luther King Day. This came about after many years of campaigning by his widow, Coretta Scott King; Congressional members; and other civil rights activists. The federal holiday was first celebrated on January 20, 1986.

“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.”

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

Last November I wrote an article about New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary voting status. Not included in the article was the brief information about a state law enacted in 1976 requiring NH to hold its primary a week before any other state’s primary. Should the secretary of state ignore that requirement, he or she would be breaking the law. 

Iowa, which holds a caucus, not a primary, would not be affected as the law does not include any states that use the caucus system. 

Seeking to add an amendment to the state’s constitution, the NH State Senate voted 23-0 on March 30, 2023 approving an amendment enabling NH’s primary will continue to be held first during a presidential election. The amendment would add the following language to the state constitution: “The secretary of state shall ensure that the presidential primary election be held seven or more days immediately preceding the date on which any other state shall hold a similar election.” Unfortunately, this amendment has not gone any further in the House. 

NH state senators have recently placed on a “fast track” to approval an amendment to the state’s constitution meant to safeguard the future of the status of NH’s presidential primary. On Jan. 9, 2023, the Senate Election Law Committee approved an amendment to preserve the state law requiring NH to hold the first in the nation presidential primary by adding it to the state’s constitution. 

What is needed now is for the NH House to vote and approve, by at least 60%, the proposed amendment. If approved, the amendment will then appear on the ballot in Nov. for voters to have the final decision. 

Whether you approve or oppose this proposed amendment to the state constitution but would like to express this sentiment to your representatives, you can reach them here.

They’re baaack! Or did they ever really go away? 

Anyway, the New Hampshire legislature is back in session and the Senate Republicans are continuing in their hell-bent mission of destroying the public school system. This past week the Senate Education Committee held hearings on two bills whose main goals is to seriously increase the school voucher program:

SB 442-FN aims to expand the voucher program by allowing any student who is denied a transfer to another school or district a voucher regardless of family income. This is just another attempt at universal vouchers as it has no requirement for the family to show the public school was somehow failing to meet the student’s educational needs.

SB 522-FN-A creates a school voucher program for Pre-K ages 2 ½ through age 5 for low-income families. This bill would stop an existing program that already provides support for high-quality childcare to low-income families through the Dept. of Health and Human Services. Instead, this existing program will be replaced  with a new program through the NH Dept. of Education. 
NH does not offer universal PreK to public school families. This bill would get rid of the high-quality childcare program which had previously been established through the DHHS. Another attempt at expanding school vouchers. 

While this next bill has nothing to do with school vouchers it’s an attempt at playing “gotcha” with educators:

SB 341 creates a vague and impractical standard requiring an educator to respond “completely and honestly,” in writing, to any parent’s question. The drawback? The bill doesn’t define what “completely and honestly” means. 
Really? Just one more unnecessary burden looking to be placed upon public school teachers. This bill is nothing more than an attempt to cause division rather than focusing on real solutions.

What the Legislature should be focused on is for every public school student to feel connected, included, safe and welcome in the school community. That there are sufficient certified teachers and paraeducators, keeping class sizes small, resulting in individual attention for students. Also enough available guidance counselors and nurses. 

The Legislature needs to focus on how public schools can encourage the interests of students by meeting their educational needs which could include “hands on” learning. In order to accomplish that, the Legislature must finally honor its constitutional requirement (obligation) to provide an equal opportunity for a public education for every NH student. Whether these students live in towns with a high or low property tax base, they should be afforded a vigorous education. 

With a 14-10 Republican Senate majority in Concord, parents (and grandparents) of public school students need to voice their concerns and preferences, then be sure to vote!