Taylor is very into fashion. “I’m a fashion queen,” she told NHJournal. “And wrestling. I’m also really into wrestling.”
Taylor shared those observations at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for Next Step Living, a new residence for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities that recently opened in downtown Concord.
Taylor is one of the residents, and she embraces the Next Step Living mission that developmentally-challenged adults “deserve to live as independently as possible.”
Taylor, a resident at Next Step Living in Concord, N.H.
“I’m still a work in progress,” Taylor says of her experience. “But I like living independently. I like walking down Main Street. That’s excellent.”
It’s also unusual. Independent-living residences for developmentally-challenged adults like Taylor are few and far between in New Hampshire. Next Step Living is the brainchild of Michael and Joya Dennehy. Michael is best known as a hard-charging GOP political operative who advised the campaigns of conservatives like former New Hampshire Govs. Craig Benson and Steve Merrill. He even served as the state’s Republican National Committeeman.
But that hasn’t stopped prominent Democrats like Mayor Byron Champlin and Executive Councilor Karen Liott Hill from supporting the Next Step project. State Sen. Tara Reardon (D-Concord) serves on the board.
That’s because, Michael Dennehy says, politics ends where impacting the lives of real people like Taylor begins. That’s why the most important Dennehy in this family project is their son, Liam.
“The vision came from this amazing little college in Wisconsin called Shepherds College,” Dennehy told the crowd. “That’s where my son goes, graduates in just a few weeks. The school is the only accredited college in the country to teach people with disabilities a skill that they can use after graduation. It teaches them how to live independently.”
Asked if his career as a GOP political consultant has impacted support for Next Step Living, Dennehy said he hasn’t seen it.
“Look at the crowd. That tells the story,” Dennehy said as he greeted project supporters at the ribbon cutting.
Among them was Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte, who told the crowd that the Next Step Living facility “is phenomenal. Look at the state leaders who are here today, committed to helping people with disabilities live a full life and quality of life.”
Gov. Kelly Ayotte and other supporters of Next Step Living participate in the ribbon cutting in May 2025.
State Senate President Sharon Carson (R-Londonderry) was also on hand. “I think a big lesson is that living independently does not mean living alone.”
And while she was unable to attend, U.S. Rep. Maggie Goodlander’s outreach coordinator, Maddie Kolaja, was on hand. Goodlander will be part of a tour and building dedication this summer with Next Step Living and the residents.
Dennehy had a long list of private sector and nonprofits on his thank-you list, including another New Hampshire GOP operative, B.J. Perry. Perry’s son Elliot was born three months premature and, by the age of 13, had undergone more than 70 surgeries and procedures. He had also raised nearly $400,000 for charitable causes, including support for Dennehy’s project.
The state also played a key role, providing ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funding to help get it off the ground, said Taylor Caswell, Commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Business and Economic Affairs.
“We were looking for projects that would have the ‘if not for’ factor,” Caswell said. “‘If not for’ means we were looking for projects that, if not for this funding, the project likely wouldn’t happen.”
The result, Caswell happily reported, was “one of the quickest turnarounds of any one of those ARPA projects we’ve seen. And to be able to create homes like this for this community is huge.”
Across the political aisle, Concord city councilor Jennifer Kretovic said she and her fellow Democrats were happy to give the project their support.
“Any kind of housing here in Concord for people with disabilities is a home run,” Kretovic told NHJournal. “And it’s the start of an important conversation for the city and really the entire state about the value of communal housing. It’s a model that’s working in the Netherlands. It can work here, too.”
Taylor certainly thinks so.
After the ribbon cutting, she had a one-on-one conversation with Ayotte. Asked what she shared with the state’s chief executive, Taylor showed her political savvy.
“I mostly like talking about fashion. I’m not going tell my advice.”
