Job Well Done: AmeriCorps at Harbor Care

I’m grateful to have served as the AmeriCorps Coordinator at Harbor Care for the length of the program — 2018 to 2020. During those two years, whenever people asked what I did for work, their next question would inevitably be: “What is AmeriCorps?”  

My prepared answer was to say that AmeriCorps is the domestic version of the Peace Corps. While that definition is technically correct, it doesn’t give a full understanding of AmeriCorps, the programs it enables, and the service of its members. By providing grant funding for special projects, AmeriCorps gives local organizations the ability to expand and support populations that they would not otherwise have been able to serve. Funding from AmeriCorps allows them to bring in additional people as well as to create programming to target specific problems that may have dogged a local community for years.  

When an organization approaches AmeriCorps for grant funding, they typically focus on one of several areas for their programming. Focus areas can include disaster services, economic opportunity, education, environmental stewardship, healthy futures, or veterans and military families. Once an organization has chosen their focus area, they then identify issues specific to their region and demographics. For example, an organization may select “healthy futures” as its focus, then choose to address substance use disorder or perhaps childhood food insecurity within their own community.  

Recovery Corps in 2019.

Alongside service to communities as a whole, AmeriCorps programs also empower the individuals who serve. AmeriCorps volunteers gain work experience and training while part of the program; AmeriCorps volunteers also receive educational awards that can help pay for ongoing education or pay off student loans.  

The Harbor Homes (now Harbor Care) Recovery Corps program began in December 2018 through an AmeriCorps grant aimed at aiding people in recovery from -- or struggling with -- substance use disorder.  Since that time, the Recovery Corps was able to recruit a total of 36 members who served between 6-month and 1-year terms at 16 host sites that serve people in recovery throughout the state of New Hampshire.  

All of these members completed required trainings, served as recovery coaches, and many eventually obtained their NH Certified Recovery Support Worker (CRSW) licenses. A CRSW license requires classes on ethics, HIV/AIDS prevention, suicide prevention, and other harm reduction tactics. There is a certification test, 500 hours of paid or volunteer work, and 25 hours of supervised work in the field. "

From 2018 to 2020, Harbor Care Recovery Corps increased New Hampshire’s recovery capital by adding 12 new CRSWs. They served 2,402 individuals throughout New Hampshire, helping them to access and receive recovery services. Of 23 Recovery Corps members, 15 were hired directly by their host site upon completion of their AmeriCorps enlistment.

The goals we had hoped to achieve when devising the Recovery Corps program were twofold. One was to serve a total of 1,100 uninsured, economically disadvantaged individuals throughout the year. The other was to see that a minimum of 65% of those we served — and who had also maintained at least 12 weeks of recovery — reported at least two positive outcomes in their lives, such as a reduction in substance use, a reduction in family conflict, or an increase in job or educational opportunities.  

We also hoped that at least 65% of those we served would enter into recovery and use at least one recovery and resiliency-oriented system of care (RROSC).  Indirectly, we were aiming to increase the number of CRSWs in New Hampshire because there is a growing need for recovery support workers who both understand and are trained to serve others in a peer capacity.   

What we did not expect as an outcome, but wholly welcomed, was the number of AmeriCorps members who were offered employment with their host sites immediately upon completing service.   

The AmeriCorps grant allowed us to provide a modest living stipend to our AmeriCorps members. Most of them served a minimum of 35 hours per week, which would have made having a job on the general economy while focusing on their AmeriCorps service difficult.  This also allowed for the host sites to receive assistance from dedicated individuals for little to no cost to them. The 36 members that served throughout the two years of the Recovery Corps program logged over 40,000 hours of service towards their host sites and communities, and served over 2,000 people in recovery from substance use disorder.   

AmeriCorps members in the Recovery Corps program represented a wide range of demographics. Some entered the program after many years of life and work experience, while others were just entering the workforce. Some members were early in their recovery journey, while others had been in recovery for years. They all served at host sites throughout the state and had very different experiences while in service; when they all came together for monthly training, however, it was plain to see that friendships and cooperation had developed between them.   

A 2019 Recovery Corps gathering — pre-COVID-19.

Prior to joining the Recovery Corps program, our members often spoke about difficulties in finding services for their clients outside of the area they were serving in – for example, a member serving at Revive Recovery in Nashua might have struggled with finding an inpatient program for a client near Hampton. After joining the program and making connections with members at other sites, however, what had been a struggle turned into a simple phone call between friends. It became common for a member service at one recovery center to pick up the phone and call another member service at another recovery center, not only to get information or assistance, but also to check in with their teammate. 

I had the very rare privilege of watching the Recovery Corps members grow and flourish throughout their service. Each made a positive impact on their community. Though our members faced numerous obstacles throughout their terms of service, they showed resilience, creativity, and compassion in overcoming those challenges. In our final year, the new members had only just begun their service terms when the COVID-19 pandemic forced many centers to close temporarily. Our members were asked to find ways to serve from home, or to find other opportunities to serve in a capacity where they felt safe. The vast majority of our members not only continued their service but were also instrumental in helping their centers maintain operation while keeping staff, volunteers, and clients safe.

I am proud to say that I have had the opportunity to work alongside with all of these amazing individuals and that I now get to call them my friends. I can’t wait to see what more they will all accomplish as they continue to work and serve their communities. Thank you!

Sincerely,

Maggie Ringey

AmeriCorps Coordinator and Guest Blogger