By Karen Pellicano, Community Health Case Coordinator
Watching the local news, chances are you’ll hear about the housing crisis in New Hampshire. You’ll see pictures of tent cities in Concord and long lines at the Friendly Kitchen. You might hear a story about how the town of Manchester is working to clear the streets downtown. If you happen to be in our larger cities, you may see people sitting on cardboard boxes, dozing on the sidewalk. It’s common to see the reality of unhoused people playing out on our screens and city streets.
Walking down Main Street in Antrim, you probably won’t find anyone sleeping in a tent. You don’t see Bennington or Hillsborough or Hancock on the news addressing the homelessness problem. Some people assume that because we don’t see it in smaller towns, it isn’t happening.
But homelessness looks different in small towns. Instead of tent cities, we have cars parked in the woods, sometimes in groups for safety, but just as often they are isolated. They are afraid that they will be found and told to move.
During the winter, many kids are sleeping on couches while parents park the car nearby. I’ve heard from a lot of families who will do whatever it takes to make sure their kids have shelter, even if it means leaving them for a while with a friend because there isn’t space for everyone.
People have said to me “I’m so lucky I have a car! I can’t imagine being homeless without a car to sleep in.” Even though the car isn’t running, and the back window has been replaced by a black trash bag, they feel lucky to have shelter.
In the warmer months, town welfare departments can help the homeless by renting them a space in a campground, where there are showers and a bit of safety. But from October to April, those options aren’t available. Bathing in the lake is a summertime solution. I read an article from the Homeless Coalition that suggested getting a Planet Fitness membership to access the showers there. But if you’re in Antrim, without a car, Planet Fitness is out of reach. Even if you have a car, it’s a 45 minute drive, using gas you can’t afford.
According to the NH Housing Authority 2025 Annual Report, there are 4,251 Section 8 housing vouchers available in NH (Section 8 is the Housing Choice Voucher program funded by the U.S. Government). The waiting list in NH has about 8,900 people. The wait time to get a section 8 housing voucher is about 9 years. Even if you have a housing voucher, you will need to find housing that accepts that voucher. Statewide, we are about 69,000 units short of the necessary housing. So finding a place to live is harder than it’s ever been before.
So, what can be done? Various towns, including Antrim, are looking closely at ways to increase affordable housing through zoning laws and the addition of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs). In Peterborough recently, the community met to discuss the housing problem and how it is impacting other areas of the economy. In 2025, 1,915 new multi-family housing units were opened in NH.
Communities are seeing the crisis first hand, and people are interested in learning more about what we can do to help. There has been an increase in advocacy and town hall attendance when the subject of housing is on the agenda.
If you would like to learn more about being unhoused in a rural community, like any of our small towns, or if you would like ideas for advocacy, please reach out and let the Grapevine know. We can bring in resources and speakers to start the discussion and answer questions.
I can also recommend going to the NH Housing Authority website for more information and ideas. They have a very good short video series called Fact or Fiction that addresses some common myths we have around homelessness.
I invite everyone to become more aware of the housing situation, and the creative ways towns are trying to address it. Please contact us by filling out our inquiry form HERE to continue the conversation or, give us a call.
