UNH Today

The NH Department of Health and Human Services Bureau of Children’s Behavioral Health and Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Services recently awarded UNH’s Institute on Disability (IOD) a $244k contract to expand the Creating Connections NH program, a behavioral health initiative that supports youth and young adults with substance use disorders. This expansion will provide enhanced research-based treatment and peer support to highly vulnerable youth in the seacoast, Laconia, Manchester, and southeast regions of the state.  

Since 2018 Creating Connections NH has been implemented by the Nashua Mental Health Center with strong results for engaging and supporting youth and young adults. Initial results show that youth who have participated in Creating Connections NH have reduced drug use and improved functioning in home, school and community. Through this funding, four more community mental health centers across the Granite State will have access to Creating Connections NH supports and resources. 

“For over 20 years, the IOD has been working to improve the implementation of high-quality interventions and systems of support to promote resilience and community connections for some of our most forgotten and vulnerable youth,” states JoAnne Malloy, Ph.D. director of the Creating Connections NH program.  “We are grateful that these new resources will help our mental health and peer support providers build their capacity to support youth and young adults with behavioral health needs, especially during this time when isolation is heightened, and access to in-person supports is limited.”