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The Derry Friendship Center is open from 9am
to 11pm, seven days a week. Along with scheduled
peer support recovery group meetings, the
Center is open to the public as a drop -in center,
and we encourage the community, our members, and
patrons to enjoy the benefits of our services
and the peer support and fellowship this provides,
as well sharing the experience of helping people
initiate recovery. The Center also offers services
such as job search and resume preparation support,
interview skills, computer applications and skills
training, and small office services such as help
with social service applications, notary public,
and special programs designed to help a person
develop self advocacy and empower them to develop
more productive, satisfying lives.
Over the past 25 years, thousands have begun
their journey through sobriety simply by dropping
in, talking to our members and patrons and discovering
the resources we make available. For the person
in crisis, staff members are available to direct
them towards the nearest available healthcare
center for detox and other supervised rehabilitation
services. We also are thankful for the endorsement
of area healthcare providers and rehabilitation
centers, as well as the courts, impaired driver
education programs, and public safety and welfare
officials as a source for mandated and recommended
after care opportunities.
In 2005 the Derry Friendship Center became a New
Hampshire State RADAR Affiliate, part of a Federally
Sponsored network of various community health
care services providers that promote Alcohol and
other drug prevention and awareness through educational,
promotional events, and drug free recreation and
life style activities We are also active in number
of community based coalitions and members of Friends
of Recovery-NH, New Hampshire’s largest
recovery advocacy organization.
Introduced in the fall of 2004, our community
outreach forum programs deliver important prevention
and awareness education about the issues surrounding
alcoholism and substance abuse. Many new programs provide wellness and other important information that are geared to help people in recovery enjoy and build a better life.The lecture and
discussion, which is free and open to the public,
is geared towards people in recovery, those seeking
to initiate recovery, and for family members whose
lives are or have been affected in trying to understand
the impact to a loved one.
The Center is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation,
registered with the State of New Hampshire as
a charitable trust, It is funded by the combination
of meeting room rental fees from the peer support
groups, membership dues, and tax-deductible personal
and corporate donations. The peer support groups
are autonomous entities, relying on modest, traditional
individual support from the attendees of the meetings.
There are no dues of fees for attending any of
these meetings. The Friendship Center membership
dues and donations support the drop in center,
the activities and the community outreach programs,
which are also free to the public.
An important point is that because of the economic
factors that New Hampshire facing,
the loss of jobs, and the subsequent loss of health
insurance, many recovering individuals rely on
the Friendship Centers’ services and resources as the
strongest and possibly the only, source of rehabilitative
support they have.
A seven member Board of Directors, which consists
of four Officers and three elected Trustees, operates
the Center. Various Committees, Administrative
and Support volunteers support them
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