June Recovery Ready Communities Collaborative Meeting Minutes
Thanks for joining us this season of meetings – see you in September!
What’s New
Panelists:
- Andrew Warner, Director of Overdose Prevention (Manchester Health Department)
- Danielle Mackey, Program Manager (Greater Manchester Doorway)
- Cheryl Andrews, Executive Director (Dismas Home of NH)
- Ryan Gagne, Founder/CEO (Live Free Recovery)
- Randy Stevens, Executive Director (HOPE for NH Recovery)
What has been the biggest success for you in the last year?
- May: lowest OD rate in history for Manchester
- In the past year, the Doorway has served 628 new clients in the region
- 68% completion rate of program at Dismas House of NH – Rochester location will open next month
- New Live Free Recovery location in old New England College dorm building is now providing detox and other recovery services
- 54 beds in 4 locations for crisis services from HOPE for NH Recovery
What are we going to do to keep Medicare/Medicaid beds open?
- Advocacy and acknowledgement of continued need for treating substance use.
- Understanding changes to the program.
- Continuing discussions with others about what is available and where there are holes in service.
What are the biggest challenges in treating addiction in our community right now?
- Andrew – Drugs are way more problematic now. The average bag of fentanyl has 16 different ingredients. Methamphetamine is a new issue, and everything is so dangerous, especially with mental health concerns.
- Danielle – Medicaid changes and paying for services; co-occurring mental health issues with substance use disorder. It’s hard to suggest someone travel to Georgia for treatment who can’t pay and has mental health challenges.
- Cheryl – biggest challenge is the misconception that after detox, you’re good. It takes a lot more than that to rebuild your life, and a lot of support is needed.
- Ryan – many different changes to the landscape. There are people offering services who shouldn’t be that don’t have their best interest at heart. That needs to be a conversation. Removing those is important.
- Randy – rinse and repeat programming needs to be moved away from and start using alternative pathways to build their lives back up.
What does your organization do to bridge the gap between co-occurring needs?
- Danielle – we keep up with what’s going on in the area. We are a referral service and serve ages 12 and up.
- Cheryl – we do many different groups hosted by trained and certified staff with different topics for SUD, mental health, and life skills.
- Ryan – full continuum of care for SUD and opening for mental health soon to provide all of those services; discharge and post-discharge services and case management and help with navigating through insurance barriers, etc.
- Randy – we incorporate training and trauma informed approaches for care.
- Andrew – the whole street team has lived experience and go to their environment to talk and provide resources.
Youth/young adult homelessness and runaway challenges are very real and an ongoing concern in NH. What percentage of folks served by any of your programs fall into this age bracket (12-24)? What are the challenges/barriers for them?
- Randy – HOPE has less of that population, but we do serve younger individuals in groups, etc. We provide all services we offer to individuals aged 18+.
- Ryan – Live Free serves 18 and older. We have trusted community partners who do serve youth that we provide referrals to.
- Cheryl – Dismas Home for NH is strictly 18 to 60 years old.
- Danielle – The Doorway serves people ages 12+, although we haven’t had a 12-year-old. There are counselors and support that go into Elliot hospital to assist the youth. Also, honing a relationship with Waypoint to team up to continue serving youth.
- Andrew – I don’t really see youth on the street, and I’m grateful for that, but when we do, we try to get in there early to break it up and get them services to funnel them away from that life. I work at the tech school with a group of kids (SUP Club) who have some sort of experience with SUD, who don’t want to use, and that’s my favorite thing to do.
What are the most critical changes we must make to face the future of substance use disorder services effectively?
- Andrew – we need to address the biggest issue, which is building a community to support people so they don’t feel the need to use drugs – rural, urban, or wherever.
- Danielle- community spaces that provide a space for those in need.
- Cheryl – recognizing that it takes a village and build a community that supports individuals through all stages of them getting better, so they are supported until they are strong enough.
- Ryan- a more agreed upon landscape – the yo-yo happens and swings back and forth but neither side is “right” so we’re in a perpetual state of starting over and it’s exhausting. Where is the basic structure we’ve agreed upon.
- Randy – problem-focused instead of focusing on solutions, and we have levels of care designed to help people in different stages of recovery. We need a shift in perspective in NH and need people who are actually doing the work in the room to build structures and help with decision making.
If you had unlimited resources to fix one challenge in this field, what would you focus on first?
- Randy – Create a longer-term program on lowering stress and regulating the nervous system to help with care, along with providing medical care.
- Ryan – A way to determine what would be the most meaningful purpose in their life to aid in recovery.
- Cheryl – I would solve the housing issue for individuals in recovery, so they didn’t have to worry about basic needs.
- Danielle – Housing, and a treatment facility that would serve the older population and handle all needs, such as SUD, mental health, physical health, housing.
- Andrew – Treatment should look like summer camp or a cruise or something. There should be an overwhelming sense of “We’ve got you”. Supporting them in all ways so that people survive and get better.
Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, September 8th, 10am-11am, at the Makin’ It Happen office in Manchester.
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