NH’s Business: New housing & services campus serving NH’s 85,000+ military veterans — many looking to be hired

WITH MORE STORMS BY LATE WEEK. WELCOME TO NEW HAMPSHIRE’S BUSINESS. I’M FRED KOCHER. TAKE A LOOK AT THIS AERIAL VIEW OF A NEW 15 ACRE CAMPUS IN FRANKLIN FOR NEW HAMPSHIRE’S MILITARY VETERANS WITH HOUSING, VETERANS SERVICES, RECREATION AND A CONFERENCE CENTER. IT’S BEEN CREATED BY EASTER SEALS AND ITS VETERANS COUNT PROGRAM. THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE AND PROCON. THE CONTRACTOR IS THE CONTRACTOR, AND IT’S NOW OPEN FOR BUSINESS, IN PART TO SERVE THOSE AMONG NEW HAMPSHIRE’S 85,000 VETERANS WHO NEED SOME HELP. AND A JOB HERE IN THE STUDIO TO GIVE US DETAILS ON THIS BOOST IN SERVICES FOR OUR VETERANS AND ON HIRING THEM, IS BRIGADIER GENERAL ALAN ALDENBERG, CHIEF MILITARY AFFAIRS AND VETERANS SERVICES OFFICER AT EASTER SEALS, NEW HAMPSHIRE’S INCOMING ASSISTANT ADJUTANT GENERAL AND A FORMER MANCHESTER POLICE CHIEF AND COLONEL BRENDAN FRASER, DIRECTOR OF THE DIVISION OF COMMUNITY-BASED MILITARY PROGRAMS AT THE NEW HAMPSHIRE DEPARTMENT OF MILITARY AFFAIRS AND VETERANS SERVICES. A DECORATED ARMY VETERAN WHO ALSO SERVED AS A DEPARTMENT OF ARMY CIVILIAN LEADER WITH THE U.S. ARMY SPACE AND MISSILE DEFENSE COMMAND. WELCOME TO YOU BOTH. NICE TO HAVE YOU HERE. THANKS FOR HAVING US. FRED. GENERAL, WHAT SPECIFICALLY BROUGHT ABOUT THE CREATION OF THIS CAMPUS IN FRANKLIN FOR VETERANS? WERE THERE UNMET NEEDS IN THE STATE? I THINK THERE ARE SOME UNMET NEEDS, BUT NEW HAMPSHIRE DOES A LOT OF GREAT THINGS FOR VETERANS. BUT REALLY, ONE OF THEM, THE BIG THING IS HOUSING. THE NEED FOR HOUSING FOR VETERANS. YEAH. SO THIS CAMPUS IS GOING TO GET AFTER THAT PROBLEM. PART OF IT, AFFORDABLE HOUSING, CORRECT? YEAH. SAME QUESTION. YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. THE GENERAL TOUCHED ON HOUSING IS AN ISSUE I THINK ACROSS THOSE 85,000 OR SO VETERANS THAT YOU TALKED ABOUT, MOST ARE DOING WELL. THEY’VE SERVED IN UNIFORM AND NOW THEY’RE CONTINUING TO CONTRIBUTE AS PART OF THE CIVILIAN SECTOR. BUT THERE’S A FEW AREAS THAT THEY COULD USE SOME HELP. HERE’S SOME PICTURES FROM THE CAMPUS IN FRANKLIN. GENERAL, LET’S TELL US WHAT WE’RE LOOKING AT. HERE’S A CAMPUS RETREAT CENTER. YEAH, THAT’S THE THAT’S GOING TO HOUSE THE HUB OF SERVICES AND THE RETREAT CENTER SPACE WHERE THE VETERANS SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE ALREADY DOING THE WORK ACROSS THE STATE. WE’LL HAVE ANOTHER SPACE TO DO THEIR WORK AND INCREASE THEIR THEIR REACH, THEIR OUTREACH. AND THIS NEXT PICTURE IS CAMPUS HOUSING. THAT’S PART OF THE AFFORDABLE, AFFORDABLE HOUSING, 29 APARTMENTS IN THERE. WE HAVE 18 VETERANS THAT ARE ALREADY LIVING THERE. AND BY THE MIDDLE OF AUGUST, WE SHOULD BE FULLY OCCUPIED IN THAT. THAT IS OUR PLAN FOR MORE HOUSING IN THE FUTURE. AT THIS POINT, THERE IS NOT. BUT WE’RE WE’RE ALWAYS LOOKING TO HAVE THAT DISCUSSION AND THEN LOOK AT THE CAMPUS CONFERENCE CENTER. THERE IS A CONFERENCE CENTER, ABOUT 150 TO 200 PEOPLE CAPACITY, AND THAT IS OPEN TO FOR PROFIT, NOT FOR PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS. SO IF ANYBODY IS INTERESTED IN THAT SPACE, PLEASE REACH OUT. YEAH. COLONEL FRAZIER, WHAT ARE THE KEY ISSUES AT FRONT AND CENTER FOR VETERANS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE RIGHT NOW? RIGHT NOW WE TALKED ABOUT HOUSING STABILITY, NOT JUST FOR VETERANS, BUT FOR THE GENERAL POPULATION AT LARGE. BUT THERE’S ALSO MENTAL HEALTH SUICIDE PREVENTION TYPE ACTIVITIES. ONE OF THE RECENT REPORTS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF MILITARY AFFAIRS, FROM THE VETERANS AFFAIRS, SHOWED THAT 17 VETERANS A DAY ARE DYING NATIONALLY IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. IT’S ABOUT SUICIDES BY SUICIDES. FRIGHTENING. WOW. AND NEW HAMPSHIRE IS ABOUT ONE EVERY TWO WEEKS, ONE EVERY TWO WEEKS. THAT’S A A. SAME QUESTION, GENERAL. WILL THE SUICIDE PROBLEM BE DEALT WITH AT THIS CENTER IN SOME WAY? SURE. BECAUSE THE PEOPLE THAT ARE DOING THE WORK IN THAT SPACE WILL HAVE ADDITIONAL SPACE TO DO THAT WORK. AND AGAIN, I THINK IT’S IMPORTANT THAT MAYBE THE CAMPUS WILL HELP TO INCREASE THEIR OUTREACH AND HOW MANY VETERANS THEY’RE REACHING. PERHAPS, YOU KNOW, NORTH OF THE CONCORD AREA. YEAH, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE DO A LOT OF GREAT WORK. WE JUST WANT TO PROVIDE SPACE TO INCREASE THE OUTREACH TO DRIVE THAT SUICIDE RATE DOWN TO ZERO. COLONEL FRAZIER, ONE OF YOUR DEPARTMENT’S PRIORITIES IS TO HELP VETERANS FIND JOBS. AND THERE IS AN EVENT JULY 25TH IN PEMBROKE. AND WE’RE GOING TO PUT THE DETAILS UP ON THE SCREEN. LOCATION, CONNECTION WITH ORGANIZATIONS. THE TIME 11 TO 1 AND THERE’S A WEBSITE THERE YOU CAN GO TO MORE INFORMATION, TELL US ABOUT IT. YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. FOCUSED ON VETERANS, THE DEPARTMENT AS WELL AS NEW HAMPSHIRE EMPLOYMENT SECURITY ARE HOSTING THIS EVENT NEXT WEEK. ABOUT 200,000 VETERANS EVERY YEAR TRANSITION FROM THE SERVICES ABOUT 2000 OR SO COME TO NEW HAMPSHIRE. AND WE’RE EXCITED TO BE ABLE TO HOST THIS EVENT TO HELP FACILITATE VETERAN FRIENDLY BUSINESSES MATCH THEIR CRITICAL NEEDS WITH THE GREAT SKILL SETS OF OUR VETERANS. FINALLY, HERE’S A QUOTE FROM A MILITARY. AN AIR FORCE VETERAN FROM MERRIMACK REPORTED IN THE PORTSMOUTH HERALD IN 2022. YOU PUT ON A UNIFORM AND YOU FEEL LIKE SUPERMAN. YOU GET THIS OVERWHELMING SENSE THAT I’M NOT DOING WHAT A LOT OF PEOPLE WILL NEVER DO. AND THEN YOU COME HOME AND OVERSEAS FROM OVERSEAS AND YOU’RE JUST GETTING OUT OF THE MILITARY, AND YOU’RE COMING BACK TO A WORLD THAT DOESN’T UNDERSTAND YOU. ONE OF THE CHALLENGES FACED BY VETERANS, MY THANKS TO COLONEL FRAZIER, WHO IS WITH THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF MILITARY AFFAIRS AND VETERANS AFFAIRS AND GENERAL ALDENBERG, WHO IS WITH EASTER SEALS AND IS HEADING UP THIS NEW CAMPUS IN FRANKLIN. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE. AND IF YOU MISSED PART OF THIS BRIEFING ON VETERANS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, YOU CAN GO TO WMUR.COM, WHERE IT WILL BE