Four licensed counselors will be on hand at Portsmouth Regional Hospital on Saturday to provide counseling and treatment resources to individuals and family members dealing with opiate addiction.
This will be the first event of its kind on the Seacoast.
Justin Looser is the hospital’s director of behavioral health. He says individuals can deposit drugs and paraphernalia without risk of prosecution. In fact, he says, “the whole program will be completely anonymous even from the hospital’s perspective, we’re not going to take peoples’ names or write anything down.”
Seacoast Mental Health, Seacoast Public Health Network; Allies in Substance Abuse Prevention, Hampstead Hospital, Sexual Assault Support Services, Southeastern New Hampshire Services, Families First, and others will be present to provide resources.
Portsmouth Deputy police chief Corey MacDonald spearheaded the event, calling addiction a public health problem, as well as a criminal justice problem.