MANCHESTER, N.H. – On Tuesday, Manchester Mayoral Candidate Jay Ruais stood in front of a group of supporters at the recently renovated Mill Girl Statue to share his priorities, plans and principles in a press conference addressing the issue of homelessness in the city.
Referencing his personal history recovering from substance abuse and the National Guard, Ruais’ indicated that he seeks balance compassion and accountability.
“Our social safety net should not be a hammock, but rather a trampoline into a self-sustaining life. My life is a testament to the fact that our past need not dictate our future,” he said.
Ruais stated that assisting homeless individuals in need would not require more programs or an override of the city’s tax cap, but rather increased communication and efficiency within existing government and non-profit programs addressing the issue. He also indicated he would seek out and remove bureaucratic hurdles that would expedite the construction of new housing in the city and provide additional support for detox initiatives provided by Gatehouse.
Additionally, he said that he would seek to hire new first responders and advocate for new ordinances building on ordinance changes from recent years prohibiting public camping and other introducing anti-loitering measures.
Other measures within his proposal would require action by the state, including the need to reform personal recognizance bail, alternative sentencing measures for misdemeanor offenses that could provide employment opportunities to the homeless, strengthening the Doorways Program and making sure other municipalities across the state do not shunt their responsibilities upon Manchester.
Ruais added that he would seek to place benchmarks to gauge progress on these and possibly other ideas to address the issue.
“We do not have to agree on everything, I will work with anyone to solve this, and I am open to any suggestions. What we cannot do is accept the status quo,” he said.
Video of the press conference can be seen here.
