Our History
The New England Institute of Addiction Studies (NEIAS) was awarded a grant from the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) to create a regional network of people from the Recovering Community. NEIAS has partnered with private non-profit agencies across the six New England states to create a regional network, the New England Alliance for Addiction Recovery (NEAAR), of people from the Recovering Community, made up of recovering substance abusers and their family members.

Each state has developed local groups of people who are ready, willing and able to educate the general public, professional groups, and each other on a) the subjects of addiction, recovery and b) what can and should be done to improve the quality and responsiveness of the substance abuse service system. These groups conduct two general types of activities in each state: 1) educational activities designed to increase knowledge and reduce stigma around chemical dependency, and 2) discussions with state and private funders and providers of substance abuse treatment, leading to a formal voice for clients and former clients in the development and ongoing assessment of the quality of the treatment system.

Representatives of each of these state groups come together at least quarterly as a Regional Steering Committee in part to share information and experiences with state and local projects. The committee develops regional training programs designed to support state efforts. The committee authorizes the allocation of selected national and regional training and technical assistance resources to be used at the state level. The Committee also oversees the development and implementation of the project evaluation.

The Regional Steering Committee will serve as a policy setting body at the regional level. In each state a similar steering committee will direct program and policy activity at the local level.

NEIAS at the regional level and one local agency in each state serve as corporate hosts for this client driven network and its activities. The agencies assist the Steering Committees in developing funding to supplement and ultimately replace CSAT funding. The corporate hosts support the committees' efforts to establish themselves as independent groups, including eventual creation of separate corporate structures, over time, if desired by the groups.

For further information about this project, please contact:
Denise Devlin at 603-647-4629,
Bob Savage at 860-571-2985, or
Neill Miner at 207-621-2549