Portsmouth Coordinated Response to Substance Use Disorder Update

The Portsmouth Coordinated Response to Substance Use Disorder (PCR/SUD) met on March 18 to review the work of its five task forces, all focused on addressing the growing addiction problem in the region.  The committee was formed in 2019 through the collaboration of former Senator Martha Fuller Clark, representatives from the Portsmouth City Council, the Economic Development Commission (EDC) and Pinetree Institute, a non-profit focused on building trauma responsive communities.  

The overarching goal of PCR/SUD is to address the gap in coordination and access across the many programs in the area that provide support for addiction prevention, treatment, recovery, job reentry and ongoing support.  Initial funding for the committee’s work was provided by the Rotary Club of Portsmouth, the City of Portsmouth and the Foundation for Seacoast Health. The steering committee is led by chair, City Councilor Cliff Lazenby, Dr. Larry McCullough and Mark Lefebvre of Pinetree Institute, and EDC commissioner Alan Gold.

The steering committee is comprised of over 20 leaders and key staff from local, regional and state service providers, including Safe Harbor Recovery Center, Seacoast Mental Health Center, HAVEN, Portsmouth Regional Hospital, the State of NH (Superior Court Chief Justice Tina Nadeau, District 21 Senator Rebecca Perkins Kwoka), Rockingham County (Child Advocacy Center, Department of Corrections) and the City of Portsmouth (Portsmouth Police, Fire and School Departments and Portsmouth Housing Authority) and the Chamber Collaborative of Greater Portsmouth.  Together, the group identified five key areas of focus and built task forces to address each.  While all task forces have ongoing actions, at the March 18 Zoom meeting, the group reported on initiatives that can be implemented in the short term in the areas of education and access connectivity. More specifically:

The Education Task Force is focused on greater awareness and training, particularly around trauma as a core root cause.  Training and education initiatives underway focus on the topic of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and related trauma-informed care and are designed both for the professional service community and for the general public.  A regional Master Training program developed by Pinetree Institute is also in progress as part of this effort with over 30 master trainers deployed across the region to date. 

The Access Connectivity Task Force is working with T-Mobile and the Seacoast Public Health Network to provide mobile phones, a data plan and access for an initial 12 to 18 months to those in recovery, all free of charge. The program, called “Seacoast Health Connect” is scheduled to start mid-April, and helps to close the gap for individuals needing access to tele-health, tele-recovery support meeting services and basic needs resources such as job and housing search, food access and family connection.

The Employment Task Force is working to implement new programs through NH Works for Recovery, Granite Pathways, SOS Recovery Community Organization, and the Governor’s Recovery Workplace initiative, that can assist with helping those in recovery to become more independent, financially self-sufficient and build self-esteem through steady employment.

The Recovery Housing Task Force has reviewed the critical need for recovery housing in the area.  At present, there is no recovery housing in all of Rockingham County.  As a result, all individuals in need of this support are referred out of the area, resulting in considerable challenges to a positive recovery outcome.  This task force has identified a range of grant and loan opportunities to support the development of recovery housing capacity and is currently working on a detailed plan to identify potential operators, sites and the process forward to make this housing possible.

The Coordination Task Force is modeling, and soon will launch, a network based on the Doorway NH initiative in Dover and SOS in Hampton, using the NHDSS-recommended “Unite Us” software platform, currently in place with both the Dover and Hampton Doorway initiatives.  The software will connect those in need of help with navigating access to resources such as the Department of Employment Security, the Department of Health and Human Services, Medicaid and networks of peer support for staying sober.

The PCR/SUD Steering Committee is set to conclude its current phase of activities with a report to the Portsmouth City Council by summer 2021.  The next steps will be to focus on the ongoing efforts of key task forces - to support the longer-term work that needs to be done to better support our vulnerable recovery community.

For more information, contact Mark Lefebvre, Directory of Community Engagement at Pinetree Institute at mark@pinetreeinstitute.org