Senator Hassan Discusses COVID-19 Impact with New Hampshire Nonprofits

U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan spoke with a variety of New Hampshire nonprofit and community organizations about how they have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. On the call, organized by the New Hampshire Center for Nonprofits, Senator Hassan thanked these organizations, as well as their workforces, for continuing to serve as a vital resource for Granite Staters, even as they experience their own challenges, including an increased demand for services and a reduction in staffing and financial resources.

Senator Hassan also highlighted her ongoing efforts to support nonprofits, including that the President recently signed into law bipartisan legislation increasing funding for the Paycheck Protection Program, which many nonprofits are eligible for.

“The challenge of your work has never been greater than it is right now,” said Senator Hassan. “I know that right now the demand for your services is up while your resources are down – resources both financial and the number of employees who are available, the way that you can configure your work if you do have a physical site that is currently operational, and then of course having to adapt services to follow public health guidelines. This is a real challenge at a time when you are doing everything that you can to meet the needs of the people you serve. I want to make sure that I am getting you resources as effectively as I can, that I am lifting up the work that you are doing because it is so critically important.”

“We are so pleased to have such an accessible federal delegation, and Senator Hassan has been thinking about nonprofits and focused on what is happening here in New Hampshire while advocating for the state and for our organizations tirelessly,” said Kathleen Reardon, New Hampshire Center for Nonprofits.

On the call, various organizations highlighted the need to focus on what support they’ll need in the future, including the need to support the nonprofit workforce. Patti Stolte, Family Resource Center at Gorham noted, “We have a staff that rose to the occasion working tirelessly to address some of the immediate needs for families in the North Country, but I do know it is a very taxing situation. Coming out of this I do fear our staff has been pushed to the limit.” 

Senator Hassan responded, “For all staff, whether they are physically frontline or virtually frontline, this is as hard a stretch as people are expected to have professionally. We are thinking through at the federal level what mental health and trauma related supports we’re going to need to get to people – during and at the other side of this, because it is such a significant challenge.”

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