Riverbend Community Mental Health To Shutter 10-Bed Residential Housing Facility In Downtown Concord

CONCORD, NH — Riverbend Community Mental Health is closing its housing facility for 10 people at 4-6 Fayette St. in Downtown Concord.

The facility will close on Sept. 16 due to “insufficient state funding,” the org said Thursday. The board of directors and senior team decided to shutter the facility after realizing the funding issues.

“In collaboration with all of our partners from the Community Behavioral Health Association, we tried our best to secure funding for housing and uncompensated care in this state budget cycle,” Patricia McLaughlin, the vice president of communications and marketing, said. “Unfortunately, we were unable to secure the funds needed to keep the Fayette Street residence in operation.”

Funding at the federal level “remains uncertain,” she added. According to reports, the lack of funding leaves the org about $500,000 to $550,000 short.

The org said it believed housing was “a critical service”; the org offers stable housing for close to 50 people in Merrimack County and there were “several” other options for clients from semi-indie to 24-7 care. But in a “challenging housing market,” the county has around a 0.1 percent vacancy rate, “every bed and every housing option that serves those with mental illness is essential.”

Clients on Fayette Street and their families and caregivers will be given two months of notice to establish future care plans and other housing options. Clinical clients will be transferred to other facilities. The four staffers working on Fayette Street are being offered other positions at the organization.

“It is tremendously disappointing to cease our operations at Fayette after years of providing a great service to the community,” the org said. “We remain grateful for the support our overall mental health care system continues to receive from individuals, donors, and community partners.”

According to its tax filings, the org’s expenses in 2023 were around $37 million. The organization has approximately $35.7 million in assets and $7.5 million in liabilities, according to an online report. Contributions and grants, between 2022 and 2023, were down around $400,000, with total revenue off by more than $2 million. In 2023, $29.8 million was spent on salaries.

The organization serves nearly 6,000 adults, children, and families annually. It closed its Riverbend Counseling Associates on Loudon Road in August 2024.

Riverbend has owned the Fayette Street building since 2008. Previously, it was housing for A Better Chance students in the 1980s.

Do you have a news tip? Please email it to tony.schinella@patch.com. View videos on Tony Schinella's YouTube or Rumble channels. Patch in New Hampshire is now in 190 communities. Also, follow Patch on Google Discover.