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State Contract for Recovery Services in Sullivan County Could Come in a Matter of Weeks

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New Hampshire Public Radio
The former Hope for New Hampshire location in Claremont, where local and state officials are scrambling to resume drug recovery services.

State officials are working on a deal to secure funding for drug recovery services in Sullivan County. That’s after the major provider in the region, Hope for New Hampshire Recovery, announced it was rolling back its offerings last month.

Health and Human Services Commissioner Jeff Meyers spoke with Claremont city leaders, local health providers, and law enforcement officials Tuesday morning to hash out the broad strokes of an agreement. “The department is very willing to work with one or more providers in order to fund, as soon as possible, recovery services in the Claremont area,” he said.

He’s expecting a formal proposal in the coming weeks, with a budget of about $100,000.

The type of peer-based services Hope for New Hampshire provides are considered to be a critical aspect of care for those in long-term recovery from drug abuse. Particularly in rural areas of the state, though, providers are few and far between.

Just last week, the state approved $600,000 in funds for the broader Hope for New Hampshire organization. That money will not be directed toward Claremont, but will instead be channeled toward centers in Manchester, Franklin and Berlin.

The fate of services in one other former Hope for New Hampshire location, Concord, remains uncertain. Riverbend, a local mental health provider, is considering expanding its services to fill the void, and an upstart recovery organization has expressed interest as well.

Efforts there, though, have fallen well short of those in Claremont, where Dartmouth-Hitchcock has donated $20,000 toward keeping services alive in the short-term, and Valley Regional Hospital has contributed $5,000 as well.

“One of the impressive elements of this entire process has been how quickly our community has been able to come together and organized,” said Peter Wright, CEO of Valley Regional. “We’re continuing to provide the services while we’re determining what the right funding mechanisms are.”

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