Substance Misuse

New Hampshire is among the top five states with the highest rate of opioid-involved deaths.  In 2017, there were 424 drug overdose deaths involving opioids in New Hampshire. (Drugabuse.gov)

As the increase of opioid use rises, we have now seen an increase in babies diagnosed with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS). Substance misuse doesn’t just affect the individual, it also affects everyone around them.

Substance Misuse

Please see below for resources to help the families that are touched by substance misuse.  

  • The Doorway
    There are nine Doorway locations in New Hampshire, providing single points of entry for people seeking help for substance use, whether they need treatment, support or resources for prevention and awareness.
  • 211 New Hampshire
    211 NH is the connection for New Hampshire residents to the most up to date resources they need from specially trained Information and Referral Specialists.
  • FindTreatment.Gov
    The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) collects information on thousands of state-licensed providers who specialize in treating substance use disorders, addiction and mental illness.
  • New Hampshire DHHS Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Services
    The Resources and Development Unit provides information and access to alcohol and other drug (AOD) service resources to individuals and communities.
  • New Hampshire Drug and Alcohol Treatment Locator
    This website lists treatment agencies and individual practitioners offering substance use disorder services, including evaluation (this is the first step to determine level of treatment needed), withdrawal management (detoxification), outpatient counseling, residential treatment, recovery supports and other types of services.
  • Partnership for a Drug Free New Hampshire
    The Partnership for a Drug-Free New Hampshire is a nonprofit organization that strives to create and promote consistent statewide messages about the problems and solutions of substance misuse in New Hampshire through engagement of partners, members and champions.  Substance misuse doesn’t just effect the person who it addicted, it also effects everyone around them.
  • New Hampshire Recovery Hub
    The goal of the New Hampshire Recovery Hub is to offer New Hampshire residents a reliable source of information and resources at any stage of their recovery journey.
  • New Hampshire Recovery House Registry
    The registry lists recovery houses in NH that have voluntarily registered with NH DHHS by submitting basic information concerning those houses.
  • Recovery Friendly Workplace
    Recovery Friendly Workplaces (RFW’s) support their communities by recognizing recovery from substance use disorder as a strength and by being willing to work intentionally with people in recovery.
  • Family Support Groups
    Providing support to adult family members with a loved one affected by Substance Use Disorder.
  • Granite Pathways
    Statewide family support services to assist loved ones in managing the stress and crises that can occur when a loved one is addicted to drugs and other substances.
  • For Grandparents Raising Grandchildren
    New Hampshire has programs that can help grandparents who care for their grandchildren. Grandparents can get cash assistance through either: Family Assistance Program (FAP); or Foster Care Stipend.
  • NH Alcoholics Anonymous
    Alcohol is still the top misused substance in NH. Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism.
  • About Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
    Adverse Childhood Experiences, or ACEs, are potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood (0-17 years) such as experiencing violence, abuse, or neglect; witnessing violence in the home; and having a family member attempt or die by suicide. Also included are aspects of the child’s environment that can undermine their sense of safety, stability, and bonding such as growing up in a household with substance misuse, mental health problems, or instability due to parental separation or incarceration of a parent, sibling, or other member of the household. (CDC.gov)
  • Nadine Burke Harris-Ted Talk
    “Childhood trauma isn’t something you just get over as you grow up. Pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris explains that the repeated stress of abuse, neglect and parents struggling with mental health or substance abuse issues has real, tangible effects on the development of the brain. This unfolds across a lifetime, to the point where those who’ve experienced high levels of trauma are at triple the risk for heart disease and lung cancer. An impassioned plea for pediatric medicine to confront the prevention and treatment of trauma, head-on.”
  • Bureau of Student Wellness:  NH Department of Education – Creating Trauma Sensitive School in New Hampshire
    The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) study and others have shown, irrefutably, that US schools are filled with students and educators who have been significantly impacted by trauma and adversity.  Schools across the nation have begun adopting a trauma-sensitive approach that fosters the flourishing of each individual student and educator by:
    1. Seeing “misbehavior” as a potential symptom of traumatic stress and adversity; and
    2. Developing climates of safety and support to counter-act the trauma.
      In addition to the resources above, each region’s public health network can be a resource to the child care providers in their area with information, training and other projects that advance community awareness about early childhood development, health, brain development, ACEs, substance misuse prevention, intervention, treatment, recovery and emergency preparedness. For more information go to https://nhphn.org/.