Tag: 211125

Knowledge is power

Podcast highlights substance abuse prevention

Christin D’Ovidio is the host of The Power of Prevention, a new podcast series produced by The Partnership@drugFreeNH that explores various facets of substance abuse prevention in New Hampshire and ways in which schools, families and health professionals can bolster prevention efforts. The series is available on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts.

What is The Power of Prevention about?

The Partnership is an organizing force behind and [in cooperation] with organizations and individuals throughout the state working to prevent substance misuse and other [harmful] mental and behavioral health issues that can be prevented if prevention actions are put into place early on in people’s lives. The podcast talks with these organizations and individuals so that we can learn about how they work with families and within their communities to stop unwanted things from happening. Each episode goes deep into the topic or area that [the featured guest] is working in.

Why was it created?

During the pandemic, people and children [experienced] a lot of additional stressors; the safety nets they had and the ways they were functioning before were put under a huge strain. We know that substance misuse increased during that time. We saw a need to fill, to share what is happening out there with prevention so that [those efforts] can spread; prevention organizations can grow; more prevention organizations [can be established]; and more people can know about how to access prevention resources, because it’s not always evident what resources are available, and sometimes, just knowing that the resources are there is all it takes for people to get help.

How did you end up hosting the podcast?

I have a Master of Fine Arts in Acting and Production, and I was one of the people [The Partnership] asked to do it. That was super exciting for me, because I really enjoy learning about these prevention programs and getting to talk in depth with people about what they’re doing and help them share what they’re doing.

How do you define prevention in the podcast?

Prevention is an evidence-based set of messages, programs and services that lay a foundation for people so that when they encounter adversity they have the skills, support and knowledge to move past it in a positive way rather than turning to coping mechanisms that could harm their health.

Who is your target audience?

Our audience is primarily people working in prevention, so that they can [connect with] others … and families, caregivers, schools and other people who work with children, youth and young adults, because they play a very important role in prevention.

How many episodes have you done so far, and what are they about?

We’ve produced and released two episodes so far. The first one is with Kim Haley, who is a coordinator for one of the School Assistance Programs in the state, and she talks about what SAP programs are and how they provide support for families and schools. The second one is with Traci Fowler, who is a senior programs officer at the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation and has been working in the prevention field and [serving as] a prevention advocate for a very long time. She talks about how nonprofits in the state and the prevention community came together during the pandemic. … We’ve done a few other interviews that are still in the editing [process]. There’s one about self-managing chronic pain, because chronic pain, if unmanaged, can lead to misuse of prescribed medication … and depression. I also talked with two women working in prevention for young adults. There are a lot of changes in life on that bridge between high school, college and the workforce, and sometimes those young adults don’t know where [to access] the support that they need.

How many episodes do you have planned?

We have 27 episodes planned … and our intention is to release them monthly, though we’d like to release two a month, if we can. … Topics [will include] supporting families with skills and resources [in order to] prevent child abuse; the juvenile court diversion program … which [works to] keep [juveniles] who have committed a non-violent offense out of the system … so that they don’t end up with a mark on their record that they can’t get rid of that could take away from their future; vaping prevention; youth mental health efforts and social-emotional learning in schools; and how issues of equity, diversity and inclusion overlap with substance abuse and prevention.

Featured photo: Christin D’Ovidio. Courtesy photo.

News & Notes 21/11/25

Covid-19 update As of Nov 15 As of Nov 19
Total cases statewide 146,834 150,813
Total current infections statewide 6,295 7,604
Total deaths statewide 1,630 1,662
New cases 5,517 (Nov. 9 to Nov. 15) 3,979 (Nov. 16 to Nov. 19)
Current infections: Hillsborough County 1,925 2,368
Current infections: Merrimack County 681 846
Current infections: Rockingham County 1,150 1,386
Information from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services.

Covid-19 news

State health officials announced 896 new positive test results of Covid-19 on Nov. 19, officially surpassing the 150,000 mark in the total number of cases reported since the start of the pandemic. The state averaged 876 new cases per day over the most recent seven-day period, an increase of 14 percent compared to the previous seven-day average.

Hospitalizations in the Granite State due to the virus also continue to be on the rise. “The health care system is extremely strained treating both patients with Covid-19 and those without Covid-19 who may have delayed care or preventative screenings, resulting in much more serious medical conditions,” New Hampshire Hospital Association president Steve Ahnen said in a Nov. 19 statement. “Our hospitals are struggling to find intensive care beds and have been forced to look across state lines to transfer patients due to lack of bed capacity.” According to the statement, there were 340 active hospitalizations statewide on Nov. 19, surpassing the record for the highest number set back on Jan. 1 of this year.

Meanwhile, the state has joined nine other states in filing a lawsuit against the federal government “for imposing a vaccine mandate on all workers at health care facilities that receive Medicare or Medicaid funding,” according to a press release. New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella released a statement saying that “the new mandate … was not adopted in conformance with the law. … We are once again obligated to take action to protect the State from this illegal mandate and the burden it would place on our already strained health care workers and facilities.”

More fuel help

Granite Staters who use the New Hampshire Fuel Assistance Program will see an increase in benefit amounts, the New Hampshire Department of Energy announced last week. The increase comes due to “dramatic projected increases in heating fuels,” Interim Energy Commissioner Jared Chicoine said in a press release. Benefit amounts will increase by 60 percent over last winter for most beneficiaries and will range from $253 to $2,520, up from $158 to $1,575 last winter. The benefit amounts for qualifying households are determined based on factors like income, household size and fuel type, the release said.

Tax mandate ruling

The federal government will be barred from enforcing the ARPA Tax Mandate against New Hampshire and 12 other plaintiff states, according to a press release, after a United States District Court issued an order granting the plaintiff states’ request for a permanent injunction against the mandate last week. The lawsuit was filed on March 31 to invalidate the mandate, which would have prevented the plaintiff states from using ARPA funds to offset a reduction in net tax revenue resulting from state tax cuts. According to the release, this put the plaintiff states at risk of having ARPA money recouped by the federal government due to their enactment of state tax cuts. “The ARPA Tax Mandate was an improper and unconstitutional intrusion on the rights of New Hampshire’s elected policymakers to make decisions regarding State tax policy,” Attorney General John Formella said in the release.

Insta investigation

Attorney General John Formella has joined with attorneys general across the country to investigate Meta Platforms for providing and promoting Instagram to children and young adults despite knowing that using the social media platform is associated with increased risks of physical and mental health issues in young people, according to a press release. The release said the Meta’s own research has found that the risk of issues like depression, eating disorders and suicide have been associated with the use of Instagram. The investigation targets techniques used by Meta to increase how often and how long young users are on Instagram and the resulting harms, among other things.

Airport support

New Hampshire’s U.S. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan and Reps. Annie Kuster and Chris Pappas announced last week that Manchester-Boston Regional Airport and Lebanon Municipal Airport will receive $9,786,943 in federal funds from Airport Rescue Grants funded under the American Rescue Plan Act to help airports adjust and maintain operations during the pandemic. Manchester-Boston Regional Airport will receive $8,735,862 and Lebanon Municipal Airport will receive $1,051,081, according to a press release. “This funding comes at a pivotal time right before the holidays, with a busy travel season on the horizon and supply chain issues impacting travel and commerce,” Shaheen said in the release.

Friends of Aine, which offers bereavement support services to children, teens and families, has opened its new location at 226 Coolidge Ave. in Manchester. The new space allows more support services, including four age-specific grief support spaces for children and teens and more peer-to-peer support groups.

Holly Stevens has joined NAMI New Hampshire as the nonprofit organization’s first public policy director. According to a press release, Stevens has been working in health policy for the past five years in Concord and said she will be working with mental health and suicide prevention advocates to effect change on the policy level in the state.

The towns of Salem, Epping and Groveton have been awarded funding totaling $500,000 to hire additional police officers, with Epping and Groveton each getting $125,000 and Salem getting $250,000, according to a press release from the Department of Justice. The grant funding comes from the Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services Hiring Program.

Support your local merchants

More than ever, it’s important to support your local merchants. The pandemic has been hardest on small independent merchants in terms of income loss and staffing shortages. As the saying goes, the big get bigger, and the pandemic only heightened that. Though that can be good for some, it’s a net loss to us and our communities.

Local independent businesses are part of what makes our communities different from other places; they are part of the fabric of the community. Imagine no local retail, no local coffee shops, no local bars or restaurants or no local bookstores. We’d all be poorer for it not only economically but also socially. These places help bind us together the same way our schools and community organizations do. It’s important to protect that.

Though it’s not always easy, please be mindful to include local shops, local producers who sell online and local services in your gift plans.

It’s better on a few levels.

For starters more of the money you spend at local merchants ends up back in your community. A 2012 economic impact study in Andersonville, Illinois, found that for every $100 spent at a local independent business $68 remained in the local economy versus just $43 for national chains. I would venture to guess that even less of your money stays in the local economy when buying from an online retailer, such as Amazon. On top of that, I’d argue online retailers are significant users of our roads, sidewalks and bridges. Are they really contributing enough back to the local economy to help pay for their use? The folks at Civic Economics and the American Booksellers Association would say no. Check out civiceconomics.com.

Local merchants give back the community in numerous additional ways. They sponsor local sports teams and service organizations, such as Rotary. They lower prices by providing competition to chains and online retailers. They provide more choices. They can pay better wages than many of the chains. They tend to have a smaller environmental footprint than online retailers. They provide a way out of poverty for their owners. They make decisions locally based on the needs of their customers and community. They provide better customer service. They pay more taxes and fees. And they, maybe most importantly, provide much of the character of our community.

Are all local businesses or their owners perfect? Of course not. Some are stinkers. But by and large the benefits far outweigh the negatives, and they need your support. So please, this holiday season take a moment and think about how you can direct more of your spending to local businesses.

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