Outside of our enforcement duties, we also have a social responsibility to help prevent and get folks help when dealing with substance abuse. We are also seeing many folks with mental health issues also may have narcotic related problems. Mental Health issues and drug and alcohol issues have for a long time had a negative stigma attached to them.
I want to start out this blog by saying that you are not alone. Doctors, teachers, police officers firefighters, lawyers and prominent members of the community and their family members have suffered from substance abuse and mental health illness. Both these problems are medical issues and can hit anyone. The longer you wait to seek help, the harder some problems may be to solve.
In our schools on an annual basis, a risk survey is conducted. The numbers we received in the area of risky behavior, suicide thoughts, drug and alcohol abuse were off the charts. I have previously said that these numbers concern me as a parent and a police officer. They should scare you as well.
This risky behavior has led us to become actively involved in One Voice. Here is the mission statement and vision of One Voice: ONE Voice for Strafford County is committed to creating a collaborative proactive environment that supports and sustains the 13 Strafford County communities' health and vitality through enhancing alcohol, tobacco and other drug prevention, intervention, treatment and recovery resources.
Their Vision: The ONE Voice Regional Network envisions an alliance of communities that are well equipped to overcome and diminish substance abuse. Through our joint efforts; communities will be engaged in partnerships to use resources efficiently and implement programs that that are scientifically proven to be successful.
One Voice has a webpage here: http://onevoicenh.org/index.htm and you can also follow them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OneVoiceNH They are also located on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/onevoicenh
One Voice is made up of community partners with a wide diversification of talent. You can see the steering committee here: http://onevoicenh.org/our-partners.htm
One of the biggest resources One Voice Provides is a resource guide of where to get help. This guides shows what facilities treat substance abuse, the insurance taken and age that they deal with. The guide is continually updates. You can check the guide here: http://onevoicenh.org/assets/referral%20guide%20booklet%20final.pdf
We will continue to seek outreach from this group as it has a ton of treatment resources to provide us that will help our community. As resources and events become available we will update you here.
In closing, More than 20 percent of high school students have used prescription drugs in their life without a doctor’s prescription. These same children are at risk of graduating to heroin if the prescription drugs are not available and they are addicted. The police department and schools can't solve this problem alone. We need your help. If you have a family member with a substance abuse problem, please reach out to us and we will provide you with all the resources we can. If we don't have an answer, we will do the best we can to find you one.
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