Cross Roads House has purchased a property located on Greenleaf Avenue in Portsmouth to use as affordable housing. The property includes twelve units of single room occupancy space with shared common areas, along with a caretaker’s apartment. The property had previously been owned by Great Bay Services who had been providing housing for adults with developmental disabilities.
“While we are in the initial phases of creating an operating plan for the property, we are very excited about this purchase,” said Martha Stone, Executive Director of Cross Roads House
The mission of Cross Roads House, a 100+ bed emergency shelter located in Portsmouth, NH, is to provide for the immediate needs of homeless families and individuals, and to provide them with the tools and guidance they need to return to permanent housing. As part of the shelter’s overall programming, a transitional shelter program provides an opportunity to break the cycle of homelessness and return to permanent housing for those residents who have an income and are willing to make necessary lifestyle changes, learn new skills, and work toward long-term goals.
“One of the greatest challenges that we face in our effort to fulfill our mission is the lack of affordable housing,” said Stone. “Our shelter has been operating over our typical capacity 97% of the nights since July 1, 2017, and the demand for shelter has been tremendous. The Seacoast area has a vacancy rate for rental units of about 1% and rents are skyrocketing. Access to affordable housing is critical to our efforts to end homelessness.”
Ship Bright, interim Executive Director of Great Bay Services, stated “As we looked to sell the residential property we had hoped that the property would go to an organization that would continue to use the property for the benefit of the community. All of us at Great Bay Services are thrilled that Cross Roads House has taken ownership. We could not have asked for a better outcome for all parties and for the community at large.”
Last year Cross Roads House provided 35,535 bed nights of shelter to 515 people including 36 families with 63 children. Volunteers prepared and served nearly 23,000 evening meals. Cross Roads House is open and staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. A vast array of supportive services and programs are available onsite.
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