Harbor Care is taking the next step in its effort to end veteran homelessness in New Hampshire.

After years of successful efforts in greater Nashua and Manchester, the organization is now expanding its focus to the Seacoast region as part of a long-term goal to ensure every veteran in New Hampshire has a safe, stable place to call home.

The Harbor Care strategy involves building partnerships across the community, identifying every veteran experiencing homelessness, and connecting them with housing and support services to ensure homelessness becomes rare, brief, and non-recurring. With a strong alliance of partners, Harbor Care helped effectively end homelessness in Nashua in 2017 and now, working hand in hand with Manchester Mayor Jay Ruias, has brought the Queen City to the verge of the same achievement.

To kick off the new endeavor, Harbor Care brought together community leaders, supporters, and advocates in Portsmouth on June 3 for an evening focused on progress and possibility.

Guest speaker and Medal of Honor recipient Ryan Pitts challenged attendees to recognize the role every community member can play in supporting veterans. “I think that we owe an obligation to our service members for life.”

Drawing on lessons from his experiences during the Battle of Wanat in Afghanistan, Pitts emphasized that meaningful change happens when people come together around a shared mission and strong leaders. “Leadership is not about position. It’s not about rank. It’s not about title. It’s about action.”

The event also highlighted the importance of collaboration with the business community to achieve lasting solutions. Representatives from Bank of America reflected on the bank’s long-standing support for Harbor Care’s efforts and the success already achieved.

Matt Reilly, President of Bank of America NH, said, “We’re proud of the work that Harbor Care has done to effectively end veteran homelessness in both Nashua and Manchester, and we’re excited to partner with them again to attempt to do the same thing here on the coast.”

The evening underscored a lesson Harbor Care has learned repeatedly in Southern New Hampshire: ending veteran homelessness requires communities working together. With support from local leaders and elected officials, businesses, non-profit service providers, landlords, and residents, Harbor Care is now building the coalition needed to bring the same progress to the Seacoast—and ultimately achieve its goal of ending veteran homelessness across New Hampshire.

We thank everyone who joined us in Portsmouth, along with our generous sponsors, Bank of America, Unitil, and Novus Mortgage, for helping move this work forward. Learn more about Veteran Services at www.harborcarenh.org. To join this effort, contact Brian Tagliaferro, Chief Philanthropy Officer, at b.tagliaferro@harborcarenh.org.