MANCHESTER, N.H. – Hope for NH Recovery has already filled the former C.A. Hoitt Furniture building with a variety of different services and programs for those impacted by substance abuse. Now, they’ll have more funding to expand those services.
Following a vote of the Manchester Mayor and Aldermen on Tuesday, Nov. 18, the facility will receive $140,000 in opioid abatement funds for the purchase of a fourth-floor condo to create a short-term susbstance-free recovery and emergency stabilization facility on their current property. The site will offer temporary housing for up to 10 individuals in crisis while they await placement in treatment programs. This is a one-time city expenditure used only for property acquisition, said Mayor Jay Ruais in a statement posted on the city’s Facebook page.
Last year the city designated $201,000 in Opioid Abatement money to Hope for expansion of community outreach teams and the Manchester Fire Department, which also provides community outreach for homeless community and those suffering from opioid abuse, last year donated an SUV to Hope for NH Recovery.
Ruais thanked the Board of Mayor and Aldermen following the vote for the unanimous support of the fund disbursement, also thanking Ward 10 Alderman Bill Barry and Ward 12 Alderwoman Kelly Thomas for their efforts on the Board and Mayor and Aldermen Special Committee on Alcohol, Other Drugs and Youth Services. He also thanked Hope for NH Recovery for their work on helping those recovering from substance abuse.
“(Hope for NH Recovery) teams work every day to meet people where they are, whether on our streets, alongside our first responders or in our neighborhoods. They help guide residents toward treatment, recovery and long-term stability. This project gives them the tools they need to strengthen and expand that impact,” said Ruais. “There is a critical service gap in our community. There is often a short window when someone has accepted help to get them into long-term treatment and off our streets. That window closes if they are waiting for the help, and hope is lost.”
Hope for NH Recovery Executive Director Randy Stevens also appreciated the decision from the board.
“The impact of this partnership is visible in the hundreds of members currently rebuilding their lives at Hope,” he said. “This collaboration has become a catalyst for the kind of systemic change we all want to see.”
Manchester is one of 13 municipalities directly receiving funds from the State of New Hampshire, which in turn has received funding from a variety of corporations providing monetary settlements for their perceived role in worsening the country’s opioid crisis.
Over the past four years, Manchester has directly received approximately $1.3 million from this fund, and the 13 communities have been given a combined approximately $14.4 million. Grants approved for state agencies from the fund so far have totaled approximately $84.4 million.