Seeking shelter: A cold reality, By Jeremy Blackman and Megan Doyle, December 22, 2014, Concord Monitor: “Robert Glodgett staggered into First Congregational Church last night, tired, hungry, cold – a drifter with nowhere else to go. He slipped a ski cap off his head and dropped onto a couch, alcohol on his breath. A woman walked over. ‘Red!’ she said, opening her arms. This was a homecoming of sorts. Every December for the past five years, Glodgett, 52, has arrived at the Concord church, which doubles as an emergency shelter through March. Night after night, he spends eight warm hours on a makeshift bed, recharging before another grinding winter day. This season, however, will be his last in this shelter. After more than a decade of housing the city’s homeless during the coldest months, First Congregational Church and its sister parish, South Congregational Church, have opted to shutter their operations at the end of this winter. Their decision, finalized this fall, was the result of a growing concern that the city was becoming too dependent on the shelters, which were temporary from the start…”
Tag: New Hampshire
SNAP Enrollment – Florida, New Hampshire
- Despite more jobs, number of food stamp recipients keeps rising, By Donna Gehrke-White, August 19, 2013, Sun Sentinel: “Despite a dramatic increase in workers finding jobs in the past year, the number of people on food stamps in Broward and Palm Beach counties continues to rise to historic levels. Even though the unemployment rate in Palm Beach County has dropped from 9.6 percent to 7.7 since last July, the number of food stamps recipients has jumped to 194,120, an increase of 6.3 percent, according to the latest data from the state…”
- Food stamp caseload begins to fall in N.H., but agencies say many still need help, By Ben Leubsdorf, August 22, 2013, Concord Monitor: “The number of New Hampshire families relying on food stamps peaked in January and has been declining for six straight months, in large part because a newly reintroduced federal rule is limiting some low-income adults to three months of assistance…”
Medicaid Computer Systems – North Carolina, New Hampshire
- N.C.’s new Medicaid payment system a ‘nightmare,’ some providers say, By Lynn Bonner, July 21, 2013, Charlotte Observer: “State officials say the new Medicaid bill-paying system is working better than expected. But for the company trying to get kids wheelchairs, the dentist who hasn’t been paid in a month and the providers who wait days to get their calls for help returned, the system is a near disaster. The state Department of Health and Human Services warned providers to expect a few bumps after the new Medicaid billing system came online July 1. For many, the bumpy weeks have been worse than they imagined, and they have not been told when the frustration will end…”
- New Medicaid computer system doesn’t end errors, By Nancy West, July 20, 2013, New Hampshire Union Leader: “Four months after the controversial $90 million Medicaid computer system finally began operating, some providers say they aren’t getting paid properly, while another said her office was being paid 10 times the expected amount on some claims. The Medicaid Management Information System has been frequently delayed since being contracted in 2005 to a firm now owned by Xerox. It is causing ongoing frustration, with no end in sight, according to Bruce Burns, Concord Hospital’s chief financial officer…”