Nashua Opioid Crisis: 2,000+ Get Help With 'Safe Station'

NASHUA, NH — A New Hampshire lifeline program for those struggling with opioid addiction reached a another milestone Wednesday in a sign of hope amid the country's opioid crisis. The Safe Station program allows anyone struggling with opioid addition to walk into any Nashua fire station and get connected with recovery help, no questions asked. On Wednesday, the program served its 2,000th Nashua resident.

Safe Station was started by Manchester Fire Chief Dan Goonan in 2016 and it was expanded to Nashua that same year. President Trump praised the program as example of how community members can help fellow citizens struggling with drug addiction.

"I am calling on every American to join the ranks of guardian angels like Chief Goonan ... who help lift up the people of our great nation," Trump said in a national address last year in which he declared opioid abuse a national public health emergency.

In Manchester, Safe Station has served more than 3,000.

This is a list of Nashua Safe Station locations at city fire stations:

• Amherst Street Station: 15 Amherst Street
• Lake Street Station: 177 Lake Street
• Spit Brook Road Station: 124 Spit Brook Road
• East Hollis Street" 70 East Hollis Street
• Airport Station: 101 Pine Hill Road
• Conant Road: 2 Conant Road
• Dispatch Center: 38 Lake Street

This is how Safe Stations works:

• "Any person seeking treatment and recovery will be able to enter a Nashua fire station where trained firefighters will connect him or her with help. AMR and Harbor Homes will immediately respond to each report.
• If there is no medical need for transportation to the emergency room, Harbor Homes will transport the person seeking help to the Maple Street shelter or to the Harbor Homes complex on High Street. If necessary, medical detox will be available.
• The person seeking help will be cared for while Harbor Homes professionals find an opening in an appropriate recovery program or facility."

Portsmouth officials discussed opening a Safe Station program earlier this year but the plan stalled. Providence, Rhode Island, fire officials adopted the program in February.

Previous:

• Trump: Opioid Overdoses A 'Public Health Emergency'
• Nashua Safe Stations Program Connects Opioid Addicts With Help

Photo: Madisen Peterson, of Farmington, New Hampshire, enters Serenity Place, a drug and alcohol recovery organization, in Manchester on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017. Peterson, a heroin user who has been clean for over four months, decided last year to change his life by taking advantage of the Safe Station program by visiting at Manchester fire station, which helped place him in recovery at Serenity Place. Peterson now volunteers at Serenity Place, helping to aid drug users entering the program. (Credit: AP Photo/Charles Krupa)