posted on: 3/1/2016
The Board of Trustees at Wentworth-Douglass unanimously approved a $125,000 grant earlier this month to the City of Dover Police Department to offer ongoing support for the organization’s Community Outreach Bureau with specific emphasis on awareness and prevention of opioid abuse.
The Dover Youth to Youth (Y2Y) Program and the Dover Coalition for Youth will utilize the grant funding to continue working to improve the quality of life in Dover for youth and families by preventing the harm caused by substance abuse.
Funding will support the creation of public service announcements to increase awareness of the current heroin and opioid epidemic – including expansion of the “If I’d Known” campaign highlighting people in recovery from heroin addiction; training for local employers to recognize the signs of substance abuse and how to help; the exploration of drug treatment models to support recovery at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital; the development of many school and community projects to both raise awareness about the substance abuse problem and provide an organized method for community resources and partners to collectively develop solutions.
“Education, awareness, treatment, and ultimately prevention are where we need to focus our efforts in this crisis our community is facing. The efforts of the Dover Police Department and their strong youth programming are making an impact,” said Gregory Walker, President and CEO of Wentworth-Douglass Health System. “We are happy to help them sustain efforts around awareness and to also develop ideas and initiatives focused on prevention.”
“The Dover Police Department is grateful for the ongoing partnership with Wentworth-Douglass Hospital,” said Chief Colarusso. “Dover has been hit hard by the opioid epidemic and this support will allow the police department to sustain our current prevention programs and develop important new initiatives to address substance abuse in our community.”
For more information about program activities or how you can help, contact Vicki Hebert at v.hebert@dover.nh.gov or by calling 603-516-3279.
