Friends of New Hampshire
Drug Courts

The Friends of New Hampshire Drug Courts is the first in the nation statewide nonprofit Drug Court support organization. As a statewide organization the Friends is dedicated to support the activities and participants of all Drug Courts in New Hampshire, including Drug Courts in Belknap-Laconia, Cheshire, Grafton, Hillsborough South-Nashua, Hillsborough North, Rockingham and Strafford counties.

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The Drug Court alternative sentencing program is a nationwide program with a proven record of success that achieves real results in combating drug and alcohol addiction and returning the participant as a productive, employed members of his or her community.

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Drug Courts are extremely successful in rehabilitating participants who graduate from the 12 to 24 month programs.  The recidivism rate, the rate at which offenders get sent back to jail, for Drug Court graduates in Grafton and Strafford counties is around 22% as compared to prisoners statewide with a recidivism rate of close to 40% and nearly 60% nationally.  There are more than 2,900 Drug Court programs throughout the nation.

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Who are the Friends of NH Drug Courts?

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Because Drug Courts are designed to work along with the criminal justice system offering defendants whose offenses are substance abuse driven an alternative sentencing option, the Friends work to enhance those programs by providing additional privately raised funding for incentives as well as related education and training.

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The original Friends of Grafton County Drug Court was formed in 2009 and was the first such nonprofit in New England.  It’s focus was the Grafton County Drug Court program.  The expansion into a statewide nonprofit organization was developed through ongoing discussions with Chief Justice Tina Nadeau and other stakeholders working together to put in place programs to help halt the growing heroin and drug crisis that is touching all New Hampshire communities across all social and economic sectors.

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Currently Drug Court programs are funded only through county taxes.  There is a strong move for the State to fund part of each Drug Court’s operating budget in partnership with counties.  The Friends fundraising will not replace state or county funding of Drug Court programs, but rather enhance taxpayer funding.

The Friends of New Hampshire Drug Courts (“the Friends”), formerly known as the Friends of the Grafton County Drug Court, officially expanded into a statewide tax-exempt charitable nonprofit organization–a 501(c)(3)–in November 2015 through notification to the New Hampshire Attorney General and the Internal Revenue Service.  Our NH Business ID number is 585029.