From a childhood of abuse and poverty, Chief Willard rises as a champion of child advocacy

Sign Up For Our FREE Daily eNews!


MANCHESTER, NH – Take 20 minutes to listen to the audio clip of Police Chief Nick Willard, uploaded above with photos, via YouTube. It was taken during his keynote address at the annual Child and Family Services fundraising dinner Oct. 17.

I thought about isolating a two- or three-minute segment, knowing that experts say the average attention span of those who click on videos is about two minutes, max.

But this one is worth listening to all the way through. Willard describes his life as “a boy lost in the abyss of abuse, neglect and abject poverty,” and how he eventually found himself rising to the role of Chief of Police for New Hampshire’s largest city – a job that has allowed him to become a strong voice for advocacy when it comes to childhood abuse and neglect. 

His story begins at about 4:20 minutes into the YouTube clip.

About 15 minutes into the clip, Willard talks about stemming the tide of the opioid crisis that is ravaging our city, our whole country. He says we need to put the same energy into addressing the needs of children who are at risk during the earliest phases of their lives that we put into treating adults battling addiction. 

“Children have not had the proper priority in this drug crisis that we find ourselves in, but they damn well need to be. When I’m asked, ‘Chief, where do we need to put the money?’ I don’t say law enforcement; I don’t say treatment and recovery; I say give the money to those organizations that champion the rights and protection of children.”

And then he makes a strong statement about the state of things, and the state of things to come, depending on what we do next as a community:

“I’ve become somewhat cynical in that I feel in spite of our heartfelt efforts we’re making little difference in stemming overdoses or shrinking the addiction pool. And if making little difference continues, then we may well have a generation that will be lost to this drug crisis,” says Willard. “So we need to save the next generation from befalling the same fate. The vision of Child and Family Services is that every child will flourish in a healthy, nurturing self-sufficient family supported by an involved community.”

Take 20 minutes. Queue it up on your smartphone and listen during your morning drive, or play it in the background as you surf Facebook. 

It’s worth listening to, and an important message to be heard.


Click here to learn more about the Beards for Bucks campaign, which supports Child Advocacy Centers in NH.

About this Author

Carol Robidoux

PublisherManchester Ink Link

Longtime NH journalist and publisher of ManchesterInkLink.com. Loves R&B, German beer, and the Queen City!