Author: Angie Sykeny

New program for mental illness, substance use disorder

WestBridge, a mental illness and substance use disorder treatment service in Manchester, has announced a new intensive outpatient program (IOP) set to open the first week of January. Stacie Lucius, chief of clinical services, talked about the program and how it addresses the need for varying levels of mental illness and substance use disorder treatment in the state.

What is WestBridge?

Our mission is to compassionately provide mental health and substance use treatment to individuals and their families. … We are a family-founded nonprofit, and the “family-founded” part is definitely important because it really speaks to who we are; we were actually started by a family who experienced the need for truly integrated co-occurring disorder treatment, meaning treatment for mental illness and substance use done simultaneously. They couldn’t find a treatment center like that for their loved one, so WestBridge was born out of that need. They also wanted an experience where family was involved in the treatment. They had experienced being left out of — or sometimes even blamed for, unfortunately — the experience that their son was going through. Having a family involved in treatment became a really essential part of our foundation. … We have our flagship services — residential and outpatient programs — in Manchester. … We incorporate evidence-based practices to promote resiliency and lifelong recovery. Historically, our outpatient model has been ACT, which stands for assertive community treatment. It’s an evidence-based practice that works with participants primarily in their own homes and communities instead of having the participants come into an office for the majority of their services. There’s a multidisciplinary team that works with participants to provide wraparound services and is available 24/7. There’s a lot of research on this model that shows that people are able to reduce or avoid hospitalization when they receive this wraparound, community-based care.

What is the concept behind the new program?

The new program is an intensive outpatient program, or IOP, which is an intermediate level of care for people who live in the community but need more structure and support than traditional outpatient therapy can provide. It’s not the same level of intensity as a hospital or residential program, but it’s more intensive than traditional outpatient therapy and psychiatry. … IOP often allows people to maintain other obligations in their lives, whether it be family, work or other things, while still receiving treatment, and, hopefully, that will prevent them from needing a higher level of care.

Who will this program serve?

It’s going to serve both men and women [age] 18 and up who are experiencing mental illness with or without a co-occuring substance use disorder. … We anticipate that we will get some people who just identify with the mental illness but not the substance use, but if they do [have a substance use disorder] then we are certainly equipped to treat that. … This is the first time we’ve formally expanded our services to include women as well as men. We initially only served men [age] 18 and over [in WestBridge’s existing programs]. We put a lot of dedication into really excelling at gender-specific treatment for men over the years, but it’s always been our goal to reach more people who can benefit from our services, and we’re really excited to expand our services to include women in this IOP.

Do mental illness and substance use disorders often co-occur?

There’s a very high correspondence. Many people who have mental health disorders also have a co-occurring substance use disorder and vice versa. People who don’t have a substance use disorder but have a mental health disorder are at a higher risk for developing a substance use disorder. A preventative approach is really important, to provide people who don’t have a substance use disorder with preventative education, resources and support.

What will IOP treatment look like?

First, we would do an intake assessment to determine what their needs are. … It’s typically three hours a day, three days a week, and the length of treatment ranges from 12 to 16 weeks on average. It offers primarily group therapy … with different groups geared toward topics like recovery and coping skills … but also [offers] individual therapy and case management. Family therapy and psychiatric consultations are available for those who need those services. … Some people may also need additional support in their community as far as housing and benefits and those types of things, or [assistance with] getting connected to additional resources in their community.

What need is this program helping to address in New Hampshire?

There’s always a need for different levels of care. Recovery is not linear and is not one-size-fits-all. It’s an individualized process. It’s really important to have varying levels of intensity of care to meet the varying needs of those seeking recovery, and we believe that our mission and core values can be applied to this different level of care.

Featured photo: Stacie Lucius. Courtesy photo.

Helping people with disabilities make new connections

Sarra Dennehy Lynch is the founder of the New Hampshire chapter of Best Buddies, a worldwide nonprofit dedicated to ending physical and social isolation of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities through friendship, leadership, employment and inclusive living opportunities.

What does Best Buddies do for people living with disabilities?

In New Hampshire right now, we have our school friendship programs and adult friendship programs where we match people with disabilities with a typical peer in their community or school. It’s not a mentoring program; it’s peer to peer, to build a friendship. We have our leadership programs … where we do day-long trainings, teaching people how to feel comfortable speaking in public and sharing their stories, advocate for themselves, and eventually network and write a resume and … feel comfortable getting a job. … The jobs program, which we don’t have in New Hampshire yet, places people with disabilities in jobs they really want. We’re not saying, ‘OK, you have Down syndrome, I’m sure you can bag groceries.’ We’re saying, ‘What are your dreams and hopes? What do you want to do with your life?’ … and we offer support to help them make it happen. … Our inclusive living program is designed for [living on] college campuses or near a college campus. We only have two of those [established] right now in the United States. If they’re not attending college classes for whatever reason, then they’re auditing classes or they’re working on campus. They’re able to have that kind of college experience even if they’re not able to go to college.

How did you get involved?

I started in political fundraising. After college, I worked in Washington, D.C., for my congressman, then for one of the national parties, and then for John McCain. Then, in 2001, I gave birth to my first child, a baby boy, and he was born with Down syndrome. My world was shaken to the core. I felt scared and lost and ill-equipped to have a child with, I thought, a disability, and was realizing how ill-equipped the environment that surrounded me was to prepare me. The doctors weren’t what you would think they should be. It was an ‘I’m sorry’ thing; there was no ‘Congratulations.’ There was no happiness around me at all that I had given birth to this beautiful kid. That joy and happiness had to come from me researching and learning. … We moved to New Hampshire in 2022, and eventually, when Liam — that’s his name — turned about 8 or 9, I started seeing that the world wasn’t fair for him. Even in tee-ball, if you don’t move fast enough, you’re not good enough to play with the typical kids. I knew I wanted to find something that celebrated people with differences. … I found Best Buddies, and somebody got me involved in the Hyannis Port Challenge, which is a 100-mile bike ride from Boston to Hyannis Port. That was the first time I had ever seen people with disabilities thriving the way that they were, and I was hooked. I said, ‘We need this in New Hampshire,’ and a bunch of us decided to help bring [Best Buddies] to New Hampshire.

What is Liam doing now?

He just turned 21 and just left me — he’s in college in Wisconsin, and he’s doing great. He’ll be home at Thanksgiving.

How has Best Buddies helped you and Liam personally?

Liam was involved in Best Buddies all throughout school. … When I first started doing Best Buddies, I was doing it because I wanted Liam to have a great experience in school. Then, I slowly realized that he was going to have a great experience, and I started to realize that Best Buddies is just as important for the neurotypical kids, because it shares with them the magic of learning about people with disabilities. These are the kids that are going to be our senators, congressmen, teachers, business leaders, parents; if they grow up around people with disabilities, maybe someday it will become more normal.

What is next for Best Buddies in New Hampshire?

We’re working really hard on bringing the jobs program here. We’re shooting for 2025. It’s a pretty substantial financial investment, and we have to raise the money … but I think it’s going to be really wonderful for people. They will each have a job coach … who will make sure their jobs are what they want and that they’re getting what they need.

How can people get involved?

We have all kinds of opportunities. They can be board members, sponsors or on event committees. … We’re always looking for people to serve as what we call ‘speech coaches’ for our leadership training. They help our participants get their thoughts down on paper and prepare and practice their speeches. … If you want to be matched in our [friendship] program … we send a questionnaire to learn a little bit about you, and then we find the best match for you, like someone who lives close to you and has similar interests. We would do a Zoom introduction, and if it’s a good match, you’ll see each other one to two times a month and talk or text weekly. It’s not a huge time commitment, and usually it turns into a normal, natural friendship where you don’t have to monitor how many times you see each other.

Featured photo: Sarra Dennehy Lynch with her son Liam. Courtesy photo.

New retail store plans to help local nonprofits

Adam Daley is the founder and owner of Granite State Discounts, a new discount retail store in Amherst that claims to sell name-brand household and essential products at the lowest price in the state while also partnering with local nonprofits to give back to the community.

What is Granite State Discounts?

It’s almost like a combination of a thrift store and a regular retail store. We sell everyday essential household items, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, diapers, hair care products, health care products, feminine care products, adult diapers. We’re offering them at the lowest price in the entire state of New Hampshire. If you can find it at another retailer, we’ll beat the price. Even when Walmart has a certain item that’s on sale, if we have that item we’ll beat the price. We also have a very large selection of new and secondhand clothing for men and women, children and babies. We have toys, games, novelties, books, vinyl records, a little bit of everything.

How are you able to pull off a retail concept like this?

I’m licensed to buy overstock. There’s also been some personal investment and saving up, and we also make money in other ways, like doing consignments.

What gave you the idea for this store?

My entire life, I always had a love for small discount stores. As a kid, I used to love places like Building #19, flea markets, things like that. I’ve always been interested in advertising and the way stores look and display their products. Having my own place one day was always in the back of my mind. I wanted to have a place that could possibly create memories for kids, the way I have memories of going to certain stores when I was a kid. … My goal is to be able to earn a living to contribute to my family while also helping to make it easier for others to contribute to theirs. I wanted to leave a legacy of kindness and set a good example for my kids.

What kind of shopping experience would you like to create for your customers?

I want this to be a place that doesn’t feel like a regular store. I want it to be a place people can go to when they don’t have much money but need to provide for their family. I want it to feel different than a typical dollar store or big corporation. I want it to have that old-school feeling of a mom-and-pop shop where people can come in and engage in conversation.

How is Granite State Discounts giving back to the community?

In a few different ways. The second Wednesday of every month is Heroes Day, where we take an additional 20 percent off the total purchase amount of $40 or more for veterans, active military, first responders, nurses and school teachers. We’re planning to do in-store fundraisers every other month for local nonprofits and organizations. Our first one is going to be in December for 603 Sober Living out of Manchester. It’s going to be an in-store shopping event where I’m going to print out certificates for the owner of 603 Sober Living to hand out to whoever she chooses, and for anyone who comes in to shop with a certificate, 603 Sober Living will receive 30 percent of that total sale. If business picks up a little more, we might do those kinds of events every month. We partner with New Hampshire Artists for Autism; we have some of their T-shirts and decals in the store, and money from those sales goes to their organization. We’re also planning to start doing shopping by appointment only on Tuesdays for individuals who have sensory issues or need physical accommodations. We’ll set up the shop in whatever way they need, with lower lighting or lowered noise, things like that. That way, people will have a sensory-friendly place to do their shopping.

What are your future plans for the store?

I’m hoping that we can get a larger location eventually so that we can hold more stuff and have a little more space to move around. We’d possibly have more than one location. I’ve also been thinking about trying to find some spaces to do some pop-up shops in the meantime.

Featured photo: Adam Daley. Courtesy photo.