MANCHESTER — City Welfare Commissioner Paul Martineau has insisted that his agency has no reason to turn any needy person away, as long as they meet the requirements for assistance. Two recent applicants, however, have a very different view. The two men, who agreed to share their stories with the New Hampshire Union Leader, describe waiting for hours for meetings and filling out extensive financial documents, only to be denied for reasons that struck them as arbitrary and unfair.

In one case, the office refused to help a man who needed help covering his bills after he had to pay for medication after suffering a likely heart attack. In another case, the office denied help to a man on the grounds that he had moved in with his sister, stating in letter that she should be able to “shoulder the burden.”

Martineau has come under scrutiny in recent months after it was revealed that his salary has swelled to $113,000, while the portion of his budget devoted to assistance has declined, even through the years of the recession, to the point that it makes up less than half the budget. The smaller cities of Nashua and Concord both pay considerably more in assistance to their residents.

In September, the state Supreme Court threw out the office's policy of suspending assistance for those caught misrepresenting their financial circumstances for six months, saying it conflicted with state welfare statute, RSA 165.

That case was brought by New Hampshire Legal Assistance. Elliott Berry, the group's lead attorney, said that for the Manchester's welfare office to deny assistance based on a man receiving help from his sister was even greater abuse of the state statute.

“This would be more flagrantly illegal than the case we just won in the Supreme Court,” Berry said.

Paul Dwyer lost his job in March as a store manager for a communications company, for whom he had worked for 13 years. By July, the savings of the married father with three children had dwindled and he and his wife were evicted from their home in Candia. His sister in Manchester has an upstairs apartment that fortunately was vacant, so the family moved in, with the intention of paying rent.

Dwyer first applied at the city welfare office in September. He filled out the standard eight-page application and was told to assemble documents for his interview at a later date. He said he brought in statements showing his bank accounts and retirement accounts were nearly exhausted, along with other documents, including copies of his children's birth certificates.

He said the case manager, Charleen Parsons, asked a series of probing questions, including why his wife hadn't worked instead of staying home to raise their kids. “I always worked when I raised my kids,” Dwyer recalls the case manager saying.

Dwyer's claim was denied. As required by state law, the reasons were outlined in writing in a letter the agency sent Dwyer.

The main reason for the denial was “this office normally does not provide rental assistance in situations where the landlord is related to the tenant.”

The letter continues: “It appears ... Paul's sister was aware of your inability to pay rent but allowed you to move in anyway, which indicates it was a financial burden she was prepared to shoulder.”

Dwyer said he was told that he if wanted housing assistance he should have his sister evict him and this would make him eligible for emergency shelter assistance.

Martineau said privacy laws prevented him from commenting on specific cases, but he said that it was unlikely his office would deny an applicant because his sister was providing shelter to him.

He did note that in his agency's 35-page packet of guidelines there's a provision that states: “Whenever a relative of a client is also the landlord for the client, that landlord will be presumed able to assist his/her relatives pursuant to RSA 165:19, and must prove an inability to assist before any aid payment for shelter is made.”

That section of the state welfare stature, however, refers to mother and child, and husband and wife relationships, not siblings.

Dwyer appealed the ruling, but was again denied.

“I get that there has to be rules for who gets help. I'm probably a bigger Republican than Romney,” he said. “But they just wear you down. I'm a proud person. I feel bad for people with low self-esteem.”

Steve Martello, a disabled single father, went to the city welfare office after he had to be rushed to the hospital for a possible heart attack a few months ago. Doctors prescribed him another medication, and the $200 it would cost him meant that the single father couldn't afford to cover his rent and utilities.

With the electrical company threatening to cut off his power, he sought help from the welfare office. He wanted help with his utilities or his medication. He was denied.

“The woman told me that hot water is not a necessity,” he said. “You can heat water on a stove and carry it to the bathtub. I said I don't live in the Stone Age.”

A few weeks later, Martello said he woke up and couldn't see. A neighbor drove him to the hospital and he was rushed into the emergency room. Doctors said he had suffered a stroke, Martello said.

“The doctors asked, 'Why didn't you take your medication?' I said I couldn't afford it. And they said, 'There's an agency that can help you with that.' I told them I already went there.”

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Ted Siefer may be reached at tsiefer@unionleader.com.