The stakes are high in this year's midterm election, taking place November 8th. It will determine who represents New Hampshire in a variety of offices, from Congress to the State House. What should residents know about voting in the upcoming election? Melanie Plenda, host of NH PBS’s The State We’re In, speaks with New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan and Director of the N.H. Alliance for Immigrants and Refugees and voting advocate Eva Castillo about voting in the midterm election.
Volunteer-powered NH elections buoyed by national campaign
Keene resident Steven Geller was just looking for an interesting way to connect with people in his community.
The 75-year-old retiree said he has made a habit in recent years of signing up for one-time gigs that are likely to put him in new situations with a variety of people. He’s volunteered, for instance, to deliver Valentine’s Day flowers and Christmas poinsettias. And now, for the first time, he’s signed up to help run a city election.
N.H. immigrants and refugees help To bolster N.H. workforce
In a tight labor market, employers have been proposing some novel ways to fill positions. According to Andrew Cullen, career service manager at the International Institute of New England, Manchester, one manufacturing company is considering providing a van on a temporary basis for a group of potential employees that need transportation in order to work.
The State We're In: Helping Children - Q&A w. Marty Sink and Heather Hall
Sununu vs. Sherman for NH governor: These 3 major policy differences could guide your vote
Immediately after nominees were chosen in last month’s Republican and Democratic primaries, New Hampshire voters overwhelmingly said they had already decided which candidate they plan to pick in the general election for governor.
Republican incumbent Gov. Chris Sununu had backing from 55% of likely voters, putting him well ahead of his Democratic challenger, Dr. Tom Sherman, a state senator from Rye, who trailed with 37%, according to a UNH Survey Center poll conducted in the days after the Sept. 13 primary election.
Declines in Food Insecurity Among Granite Staters Aided by Federal Pandemic Assistance Programs
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) surveys households each year to understand the prevalence of food insecurity across the nation. The USDA defines food insecurity as when households are, at least at some times in a year, unable to acquire adequate food for one or more adults or children in a household because of insufficient money or other resources. At the state level, these USDA data are aggregated into three-year periods to have sufficient data for more reliable estimates. The newest data, covering the years 2019-2021, were released in September 2022.
The Granite State's Growing Tech Industry: Q&A w Flo Nicolas, host of Get Tech Smart
New Hampshire has a growing tech industry, but it tends to fly a little under the radar.
It provides jobs, tax revenue, and a host of other benefits. But what does it mean for the state? And how can you be a part of it?
The State We’re in host, Melanie Plenda speaks with Flo Nicolas, the founder and CEO of CheapCheep and the host of the local TV show "Get Tech Smart."
State Works to Bolster Support for Kinship Caregivers, While Recognizing There’s More to Be Done
Tawna Fisher, of Unity, never imagined that she’d have a four-year-old son when she was 54.
Her own biological children are well into their 30s and have their own kids. But when her niece got pregnant, Fisher knew she would struggle to take care of a child. When the baby was just three weeks old, his pediatrician called the Division for Children, Youth and Families (DCYF), concerned that the baby’s biological mother was not feeding him.
Divide Between Mental Health and Substance Use Treatment: ‘How Do We Come Together?’
About half of those who experience a substance use disorder during their lives will also experience a mental health disorder, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. And studies show the reverse is also true: About half of those with mental illness will also experience substance use disorder. Some experts put that number even higher.
Yet despite that close relationship, the two conditions are too often treated separately, according to experts in both fields.
Getting on-site clinician for Manchester Doorway a priority
In 2020, Catholic Medical Center took over the Manchester Doorway from Granite Pathways, which had overseen both the Manchester and Nashua Doorways. In Nashua, Southern New Hampshire Health stepped in.
Established in 2019, the Doorway program includes nine Doorway sites around the state that serve as entry points for people to access a range of addiction services. The federally funded statewide initiative was established to address the opioid addiction crisis
At New Hampshire’s Doorways, Addiction Treatment Windows Can Close Quickly
By the time Nicholas Bickford sought help for addiction in Manchester two years ago, he said he had suffered about 12 overdoses over decades of addiction. He had been through several rehab programs and in and out of probation and parole.
“I finally had had enough,” he said. “I took every suggestion. And it just started clicking,” he said. Like so many, his addiction began with painkillers and led to illicit drugs, including heroin.
For Prospective U.S. Immigrants: The Stars Have to Align Perfectly
Bruno D'Britto left his home in Rio de Janeiro as a teenager, arriving in Nashua to join his father, who had left Brazil for the United States years earlier after his parents divorced. Coming to the U.S. was a chance to seek better opportunities, he said, and to leave a neighborhood beset by violence.
“I saw many people being shot. Like a month before I came (to the United States), this kid got shot, killed pretty much in front of my school as we were leaving. When you are living with that, you kind of become numb to it,” he said. “It actually took me a couple of years after I came to realize that wasn't the norm.”