A N.H. haven for at-risk LGBTQ youth
Unity House, first such group home of its kind in state, modeled after one in Waltham
KEENE, N.H. — A stately house that was converted years ago into a nursing home and then an office has had its residential charm restored: The 6,700square-foot facility, now called Unity House, will serve as a group home that caters to at-risk teenagers who identify as part of the LGBTQ community — the first of its kind in New Hampshire.
“It took us over a year to find this building, and then it took us well over a year to get it to this state,” Matthew McCall said, as he led a recent tour through the freshly renovated property. “Placing group homes in the state is challenging and always has been. But we were really lucky to come across a building that met a lot of our needs.”
The project is run by The Home for Little Wanderers, a Boston-based nonprofit that opened a similar group home 22 years ago in Waltham. McCall, the nonprofit’s vice president of community services, said Unity House will be staffed round-the-clock by licensed clinicians, and will offer mental health counseling, treatment planning, and therapy, as well as opportunities for vocational training and community-building.
During the renovation, crews ripped out 1980s mauve carpeting to reveal the hardwood flooring throughout the main living area, which features several warm and inviting rooms designed to give residents plenty of space for homework, board games, and other activities. The four bedrooms, with two beds apiece, are still sparsely decorated. But that’s intentional, McCall said, because whenever newly placed residents move in, they will customize their space to their liking.
While some teens might stick around for just a few months, the average stay is likely to last two to three years, McCall said, so it’s important to make Unity House feel like home. Residents will help cook meals and earn an allowance for completing their assigned chores. The end goal is to create a stable and affirming environment that sets them up for success when they move out on their own or head back to their family.
McCall, a licensed clinical social worker, said he had already received 15 referrals and a slew of other inquiries regarding teens who might be a good fit for the eight-bed house, so there is clearly demand for a more LGBTQ-inclusive residential setting.
His team spoke with one potential Unity House resident in their late teens who had long hoped to begin hormoneblocking treatments. When the teen was told they would be able to easily get from Unity House to a nearby clinic to start that process, McCall said, they burst into tears, relieved to have finally found an affirming environment. (Minors will still need the permission of their parent or legal guardian to undergo any medical treatment.)
McCall said his team is prepared to help Unity House residents grapple with issues such as abuse, neglect, and other forms of trauma that may have nothing to do with their gender identity or sexual orientation. The first two residents arrived Tuesday, and more are expected soon, he said.
New Hampshire officials have been “incredibly supportive,” he said.
“They’ve really done a lot to move mountains to get us the funding that we need and the structure that we need here to be able to do this,” he added.
Buying and refurbishing the building near Keene’s Central Square has cost roughly $750,000, and there have been staffing and other startup costs ahead of the grand opening as well, McCall said.
The Home for Little Wanderers signed a contract with the New Hampshire Department of Health & Human Services in 2021 that covered $387,000 in startup costs for the Unity House project, mostly for expenses related to personnel and equipment.
Once residents move in, the organization will receive a daily rate of $585 for each Medicaid-enrolled individual staying at the facility, according to the contract.
Jake Leon, a spokesperson for New Hampshire’s Department of Health and Human Services, said state contracts with the Boston-based nonprofit are part of the department’s efforts to build out a broad and diverse system of care. He said the nonprofit has established several different residential programs to provide mental, physical, and psychosocial support.
“Children and youth in residential care are most successful when the programming is tailored to their needs,” Leon said.
“We envision a children’s system of care that offers a wide variety of services and service providers to help all youth with mental health needs lead healthy and happy lives.”
The five-member New Hampshire Executive Council, which reviews all state contracts worth $10,000 or more, authorized the terms of the Unity House arrangement with a batch of contracts in 2021, and authorized amendments in 2023.
McCall said he and his team were curious to see whether the political environment in New Hampshire might lead to more resistance than they have encountered in Massachusetts, but so far officials have been supportive.
“We have yet to run into something where they’ve said, like, ‘Ooh, yeah, no, we’re not comfortable with that,’” he said. “On the whole, their approach has been, ‘You all are the experts on this, we are not; tell us what you think you should do, and we’ll get on board with it.’”
McCall said the dicier political questions around investing in services for LGBTQ youth in New Hampshire pertain to the state Legislature, which has introduced bills year after year that threaten to restrict or even ban certain types of gender-affirming care for minors.
“Those are the things that worry us a lot more,” he said. “It’s also, honestly, one of the reasons we wanted to be in New Hampshire, because as much as Massachusetts has needed this program — and it absolutely has — we know that there’s a climate here that has greater challenge for many of the young people in this community and in this state.”