Opioid Crisis: 'Safe Station' Helps 3,600+ In NH

NASHUA, NH — "Everyday heroes" are needed to pull the country out of the opioid crisis, President Trump said in a landmark speech last week declaring opioid abuse a national public health emergency. Some of those heroes can be found in New Hampshire running the "Safe Station" program, a new initiative started in Manchester and expanded to Nashua that connects opioid addicts with recovery help without the fear of arrest. In a year, the program has served at least 3,600, officials said.

Trump called the program an inspiration for communities ravaged by opioid abuse. Manchester fire Chief Dan Goonan started the Safe Station program last year.

"We are inspired by the stories of everyday heroes who pull their communities from the depths of despair, through leadership and through love," Trump said Thursday at the White House. "Fire chief Dan Goonan of New Hampshire, great state, runs a program, Safe Station, which allows drug-dependent residents to seek help at fire stations at any time ... 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."

The Manchester Safe Station program has served 2,545 individuals, while the Nashua program has served 1,092, according to Christopher Stawasz, regional director for American Medical Response, which provides emergency services in the two cities.

Opioid deaths in Manchester are down 40 percent this year, while overdoses in Nashua down 24 percent, according to statistics released this week.

"Some really good progress this month," Stawasz said in a statement.

In October, five people in Manchester and two in Nashua died of suspected drug overdoses, according to the statistics.

In Nashua, here 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."

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Trump: Opioid Overdoses A 'Public Health Emergency'

Nashua Opioid Deaths: 29 Suspected So Far In 2017

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)