January 2026 RRCC Meeting Minutes

January Recovery Ready Communities Collaborative Meeting Minutes 

Happy 2026! 

Featured Speaker – On the Road to Wellness 

Ariana Moniz, Deputy Director 

Justin Michaud – Director of PSA 

Gary – Director of Step-Up, Step-Down 

• Who is On the Road to Wellness? 
  • Free mental health support, using the peer support model. 
  • No insurance, no diagnosis, no ID required. 
  • Located in Manchester and Derry as walk-in clinics. 
  • Dedicated to educate, advocate, and empower our members to maintain their mental health and wellness. 
  • 10% increase in total center visits within the past year. 
• Program expansion in 2025
  • A new program they offer: PATH (Practical Action Towards Harmony) – 8 dimensions of wellness, assigned a peer support specialist, one-on-one support on their journey. 
• Member driven organization – everything members want to do, OTRTW implements. 
  • Members can facilitate their own group. 
  • Member driven meeting once a month for comments, concerns, and member feedback. 
• OTRTW is always interested in partnering with other organizations for upcoming initiatives/events. 
• Their space can be used to host groups, workshops, and educational presentations. 
• OTRTW offers free transportation from Manchester to Derry (40 minutes maximum commute each direction) with 24-hour notice. 
• Newsletter & calendar available on when the groups take place, repeats weekly, up to 6 mental health primary support groups a day. 
• Available via email & paper copies in center 
• Holistic wellness program – free sound bowl, meditation, movement, breathwork, and yoga sessions. 
• Off-Site Programming
  • Justin leads a group at Hope for NH Recovery about mental health every other week, promoting peer support and resources from OTRTW. 
  • Gary facilitates a group at 1269 Cafe about wellness, talking about struggles, goals; occurs every other week. 
• Step-Up, Step-Down 
  • 90-day program  
  • Helping people put their feet on a firm foundation to set them up for success – means that we are either preventing someone from stepping up to inpatient hospitalization or supporting people to step down from residential programming. 
  • Due to restructuring, there are no residents currently. The re-opening date for the program is February 2^nd. They have some waitlisted for now, but there will be openings for referrals. The waitlist closes when it reaches 10 individuals, but they still accept referrals after that point. Once the waitlist drops to 8 people, it is re-opened.   
• OTRTW & Substance Use Prevention 
  • Community outreach and engagement 
    • Impactful for bringing members in.
  • Harm reduction and basic needs 
    • Food, hygiene items, and clothing offered at both centers. 
    • Partners with Acts of Kindness, South-Central Public Health Network, and NH Harm Reduction Coalition for materials. 
• For anyone interested in learning more about becoming a Peer Support Specialist (PSS), email Gary: [email protected]g.
• For any questions about On the Road to Wellness, please email: [email protected]. 

Overdose Prevention Updates 

• December Overdose Data

General Updates/Information

• 2026 PIT Count: 
  • Thursday, January 29^th, Starting at 5 am at the Manchester City Library. 
  • If you are volunteering, arrive at 4:15/4:30 am. 
  • There is a required training for volunteers on Thursday, January 15th at 1 pm, please email Owen Westover ([email protected]) with any questions, or if you cannot make the training session. 
  • Volunteer sign up form
  • Volunteer training session registration 

• Recovery
  • MIH’s “ My Recovery Gallery” is at On the Road to Wellness this month, and next month it will be going to Live Free at their new location on Lowell Street. Stay tuned for our expansion this summer! 
  • The Makin’ it Happen anti-stigma billboard is up on Queen City Ave – check it out!

Action Plan 

• Communication:  Two ideas from Janelle, based off of workgroup suggestions from the last two months: 
  • Shared Google Drive with relevant information, upcoming events/opportunities, documents, etc. One space to be able to share resources and support. 
  • OR, a website-style resource page: 
    • More in depth information/communication  
    • Updated monthly by members and MIH
    • Upcoming events, newsletters, resources, slideshows 
    • Example here 
  • Please think about where communication might be lacking, and what we can do to bridge this gap, or if we even need something like this.
• Public Policy: The 2026 legislative session began on January 7^th.
  • New Futures has posted their 2026 Lunch and Learn virtual training sessions.
  • “Lobbying vs Advocacy” virtual session next Tuesday, January 20^th.
    • Unregulated intoxicants
      • There has been a push to address the issue of unregulated intoxicants (kratom, blue lotus, poppers, whippits, etc.). 
      • Their legal status is a grey area, and grassroots movements are happening to ban these intoxicants in town elections, like in Raymond and Goffstown. 
      • More to come on this topic! 

What’s Next 

• Next month will have Brittany Boles from Granite United Way talking about their Closed Loop Referral System.
• Save the Date: New Futures is going to facilitate an “Advocacy 101” training for RRCC members for the April Meeting! 

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, February 10th, 10am-11am, Virtual via Zoom – subscribe to our email list to get the Zoom link. 

Want to be added to the email list for the RRCC? Please click here to subscribe!