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N.H. Recovery Centers Face Funding Gap As State Waits For Opioid Response Grant

Flikr Creative Commons / Grumpy-Puddin
Recovery centers are facing a gap in funding as the state waits for more opiod funding

Some New Hampshire recovery centers say they are dealing with a lapse in funds as the state waits to receive more federal money.  

An official from the Department of Health and Human Services says the state applied for a national State Opioid Response grant in May. Now, they’re waiting for at least $28.1 million from the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration. 

This funding provides support to 16 recovery centers in the state. 

Cheryle Pacapelli is the project director for one of those, Harbor Care, in Nashua. She says her center has seen a 38 percent cut in funding. While she expects this to be temporary, it could have a lasting effect, and she says some recovery centers might not be able to make it through.

“Services that are currently being provided without the additional funding would need to be stopped,” Pacapelli said. “In some cases, recovery centers could close - at the very least their services would be impaired or reduced.” 

SOS recovery in Rochester and Dover are one of the many centers’s expecting this grant. John Burns, the head of the center tells NHPR that as he waits for more funds, he has had to make cuts to programs. What’s more, Burns says he is expecting an increase in need for his help. As the state reopens, he says he’s seeing a continuation of overdose deaths.

"We have lost close to 500 people several years in a row in this state,”Burns said. “I don’t think that’s going to stop if we cut funding.” 

Officials from DHHS say this is a “matter of timing,” and they expect to receive the funds. 

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