New Hampshire details plans for spending initial $6.5M in grants from opioid lawsuits
New Hampshire Public Radio | By Paul Cuno-Booth
New Hampshire plans to target its first round of opioid settlement money toward harm reduction services, youth prevention efforts, peer recovery supports and residential treatment and housing, among other programs.
The money is part of the tens of millions of dollars the state has received in legal settlements with companies accused of fueling the opioid crisis.
State officials have proposed $6.5 million in grants to 16 nonprofits, health care organizations and county governments to support a range of efforts to treat and prevent substance use in New Hampshire, at a time when overdose deaths have been rising. At least 480 people died due to overdoses last year — the most in the state since 2017.
The contracts — which go before the Executive Council for approval Wednesday — are based on recommendations from the state’s Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission. The panel, which the Legislature created to oversee the settlement funds, includes lawmakers, local officials and people who work in public health, addiction treatment, law enforcement and corrections.
Proposed Opioid Abatement Grants
New Hampshire health officials are proposing to fund about $6.5 million worth of projects to treat and prevent drug addiction. These would be the first projects funded by the state using money from legal settlements tied to the opioid crisis. Scroll through the table below to learn more about the contracts.
| NH Harm Reduction Coalition | $875,000 | Statewide | Expansion of harm reduction services |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dismas Home of NH | $800,000 | Statewide | Residential treatment and transitional housing for formerly incarcerated women |
| Greater Seacoast Community Health | $575,737 | Statewide | Expanding peer recovery supports for people involved in criminal justice system |
| Making It Happen Coalition for Resilient Youth | $574,350 | Greater Manchester | Youth prevention programs |
| TLC Family Resource Center | $568,813 | Sullivan County; lower Grafton County | Drop-in program in Lebanon for people with substance use disorder seeking services |
| Weeks Medical Center | $458,270 | Coos County; upper Grafton County | Signing/retention bonuses to boost behavioral health workforce; improving opioid treatment program; planning and development for treatment and transitional housing facility |
| Sullivan County | $453,847 | Sullivan County | Supporting county Department of Corrections-run transitional housing program for people with substance use disorder |
| Boys & Girls Club of Greater Nashua | $353,350 | Greater Nashua | Youth prevention programs |
| Archways | $284,034 | Central NH | Youth treatment/recovery; recovery supports for people involved in justice system |
| Hope on Haven Hill | $269,645 | Statewide | Recovery housing for pregnant and postpartum women |
| The Upper Room | $264,000 | Greater Derry | Youth prevention programs |
| North Country Health Consortium | $263,787 | North Country | Helping schools address impact of substance use on students and other youth prevention efforts; transportation for treatment |
| Mid-State Health Center | $217,028 | Southern Grafton County | Transportation to treatment and recovery supports in rural area |
| Merrimack County | $209,365 | Merrimack County | Expansion of county navigator program; transporation for treatment |
| Elliot Hospital | $200,000 | Statewide | Tuition reimbursement and loan assistance to strengthen behavioral health workforce |
| Cheshire County | $173,888 | Cheshire County | Expanding peer support for drug court |
The New Hampshire Harm Reduction Coalition is in line to receive the largest grant, $875,000, to expand harm reduction services in communities across the state.
Another $800,000 would help Manchester-based Dismas Home grow its residential treatment and transitional housing program for formerly incarcerated women. The organization’s executive director, Cheryll Andrews, said they hope to expand from eight to 24 beds.
“If we can build this really strong support network for these women, they have a really strong shot,” Andrews said. “They have a really great shot at being successful long term on the outside after.”
Multiple organizations working to prevent substance misuse among youth are also in line for funding. One is The Upper Room, a family resource center in Derry slated to receive $264,000. It plans to expand its youth-focused programs, including support for students during out-of-school suspensions, anger management classes and substance misuse education.
Intervening early to help struggling teens can prevent the harms that would come from years of misusing substances, said Executive Director Brenda Guggisberg.
“You’re able to help people live a life differently,” she said.
The money would also support a range of other programs, including efforts to:
- Expand peer recovery support services, including for people involved in the criminal justice system;
- Bolster New Hampshire’s behavioral health workforce;
- Provide rides to substance-use treatment and other recovery-related supports;
- Offer transitional or recovery housing, including for pregnant and postpartum women;
- Make it easier for people with substance use disorders to connect with treatment, housing and other basic services.
The funding comes from a wave of lawsuits against companies that made, sold or distributed opioid painkillers. New Hampshire and other states, along with thousands of local and tribal governments, have accused those companies of sparking an opioid-addiction crisis that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives in the U.S.
State officials estimate those settlements will generate more than $300 million for New Hampshire over the next two decades, of which the state has already received more than $40 million. All of that money must be used, in one way or another, to address drug addiction.
Members of the Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission have said they will make additional rounds of funding available once the first grants are approved.
Separately, about two dozen towns, cities and counties are receiving a share of the settlement funds directly. More than $6 million has already gone to those communities, which filed their own lawsuits against drug companies.
