Below is a statement issued by HOPE for NH Recovery, following the decision to close four of its five Community Recovery Centers.
MANCHESTER, NHÂ – In an effort to preserve its mission to support people impacted by addiction through lived experience, on their path to wellbeing, HOPE for NH Recovery is moving forward with plans to consolidate its operations.
Scott Bickford, HOPE’s Board Chair stated, “The Board and HOPE’s staff have worked very hard to keep all of our centers open to serve as many New Hampshire residents and families as possible. When we were initially asked to open centers in these communities, we intended for them to be sustained via a blended funding stream. This stream was to consist of support from local businesses, organizations, and individuals as well as some state funding.”
Executive Director and longtime advocate Melissa Crews shared her thoughts on the closures.
“The outreach and support in Manchester has been amazing. We have just been unable to duplicate that in the other communities. While people are using the centers and finding them very valuable in their recovery journey, the funding just hasn’t materialized as we had hoped. Unfortunately, the costs to operate the centers are significantly higher than the revenue available to each center. While no one wants to see the centers close, our board realizes that the majority of the organization’s funding sources have been Manchester area businesses, organizations and donors. We remain committed to working with the state to help identify revenue streams for these types of community centers.”
Funding all five centers absent local and state support since July 2017 has put a tremendous financial strain on HOPE’s largest center in Manchester. The board of directors has voted to close the satellite centers in Franklin, Concord, Claremont, and Berlin by the end of the month. The board believes that these closures,while difficult, are in the best interest of the organization. The board is also mindful of its obligation to be good stewards of the organization’s resources and is optimistic that this is a significant step toward it being self-sustaining.
