At a time when many are rediscovering the importance of family, community and all the people who provide us with essential services of all sorts, Peter E. Randall Publisher is proud to announce the publication of Communities & Consequences II: Rebalancing New Hampshire’s Human Ecology, by Peter Francese and Lorraine Stuart Merrill.

New Hampshire is now the second-oldest state in the nation. Maine is the oldest, and Vermont ranks third. The authors describe how our age structure urgently needs rebalancing before shortages of workers cripple our economy, and impede our ability to provide emergency services, health and urgent care for the rapidly growing numbers of older residents.

Declining numbers of children and young people are of even greater concern than increases in people over 65. Nationally school-age children outnumber seniors – but New Hampshire now has 22% more residents over 65 than school-age children.

The authors show how state and local policies contribute to the lack of affordable housing, high cost of higher education and resulting student debt burden that have driven young people to look elsewhere for opportunities. This book and upcoming documentary film by Jay Childs in partnership with NHPBS describe how we got into this demographic debacle, and how visionary local leaders and citizens are crafting strategies to restore balance.

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