NH nonprofit making unusual decision to turn down federal aid

MANCHESTER, NH — A New Hampshire nonprofit is making the unusual decision to turn down tens of thousands of dollars in federal aid.

The director of the Liberty House in Manchester, a transitional house that help homeless veterans, said he is choosing not to seek a nearly $40,000 grant from HUD (Housing & Urban Development) in 2016.

"We're doing the right thing because it's the right thing," said Keith Howard.

Howard said he recently learned that under a HUD program called Housing First, transition houses had to make accommodations to allow drug and alcohol use in the facilities.

"They have every right to say, if you want to take our money, you have to dance our dance. It's just not a dance that's healthy for the men and women here," Howard told Fox 25.

Navy veteran Jim McCormack, who has been staying at the Liberty House for the last month while battling alcohol addiction, said HUD's guidelines would have hurt his chances at recovery.

"I purposely looked for a sober place to live for my own well being," McCormack said. "Their whole concept is an enabling thing, I'm against it completely."

In order to bridge the $40,000 funding gap, which makes up about fifteen percent of the Liberty House's annual budget, Howard said he is taking a fifty percent pay cut in 2016.

Still, Howard said that was not a difficult decision to make, citing the sacrifices the veterans who live in the Liberty House have already made.

"We're not victims here. We are standing on our two feet, having made a decision and we will live with the consequences," Howard said.

Cox Media Group