The front hallway at White Horse Recovery’s new clinical offices

“Our clinical staff are excited about the move to the new space,” said Matthew Plache, Executive Director of White Horse Recovery. “It is very professional, a beautiful old building with hardwood floors and ample natural lighting, more spacious and more private. It’s well suited to the needs of our clients and staff and provides much needed space for our expanding mental health practice.”

The new facility will be handicap accessible and features four spacious clinical counseling offices, a group meeting conference room, and ample workspace for administrative and executive staff. The building also provides access to an adjacent space suitable to host large functions, including a commercial kitchen, as well as a private chapel available to clients seeking faith-based counseling.

The move carries significance beyond the new walls. By relocating clinical operations, White Horse frees up one of its existing buildings to house a recovery residence in Center Ossipee, a goal the organization has pursued for more than a decade. Recovery residences — safe, structured, substance-free housing for individuals in early recovery — have been shown to improve long-term outcomes for people working to rebuild their lives after substance use disorder.

“Demand for this kind of housing in the region has consistently outpaced supply,” explained Plache. “Our new clinical offices reflect our continued investment in expanding access to high-quality, compassionate care across Northern New Hampshire.”

Founded in Center Ossipee, New Hampshire, White Horse Recovery has grown from a small organization into a leading nonprofit with 28 employees across four locations in Northern New Hampshire, providing both mental health and substance use disorder services, regardless of ability to pay.

If you or someone you know is struggling, you are not alone. White Horse Recovery offers services for those ready to start their journey to recovery. For more information, call 603-651-1441, Ext. 1.

Joe Aiello

White Horse Behavioral Health recently elected Joe Aiello, Co-Founder of Commercial Office Interiors LLC, to its Board of Directors. The appointment reflects the organization’s broader strategy to draw talent from outside traditional recovery and nonprofit sectors as it works to meet the complex needs of individuals and families affected by substance use disorder across New Hampshire.

Aiello joins White Horse at a moment when demand for behavioral health services continues to climb and the challenges facing those in recovery — from housing instability to co-occurring mental health issues and economic pressure — have grown more layered. To keep pace, White Horse has intentionally widened the aperture on board recruitment, seeking leaders whose backgrounds bring new tools, new networks, and new perspectives to the work.

“The services we provide and the challenges our clients face today don’t fit neatly into a single category, and neither should our board,” said Matthew Plache, Executive Director of White Horse. “We’re actively looking beyond the usual places for leadership — for entrepreneurs, community builders, and people with lived experience — all at the same table. Joe brings an energetic entrepreneurial dynamic to the Board that fits perfectly with our non-profit mission and our strategic growth trajectory.”

Aiello co-founded Commercial Office Interiors LLC in 2022 and has scaled the company from a closet-sized office in a Londonderry coworking space to a 6,800-square-foot facility in Hooksett, competing with much larger firms through what he describes as a relentless focus on efficiency and smart use of technology. He connected with White Horse in 2024 through the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses intensive leadership development program, where he learned and worked alongside Plache.

On the board, Aiello plans to focus on operational optimization — evaluating the organization’s software infrastructure and identifying opportunities for automation and efficiencies. He has already prepared a detailed roadmap of potential improvements he believes can measurably impact the organization’s bottom line within 12 months.

“Organizations run on process, and software lets you structure process,” Aiello said. “Software can be a force multiplier if it’s used right. The goal is not to reduce headcount — it’s to equip people better so they can do more.”

His commitment to the mission is also personal. Through his work as an officer at LifeWay Church in Manchester — where the congregation now serves roughly 200 people weekly through a community breakfast ministry in one of the state’s most challenging neighborhoods — Aiello has seen the human cost of addiction firsthand. His own company employs an individual in long-term recovery, an experience he credited with deepening his understanding of the population served by White Horse.

“I see the need for it, and I see how important it is to have real resources for people trying to get back on their feet,” he said. “If White Horse is able to run more efficiently, then every dollar in charitable donations goes further.

”Founded in Center Ossipee, New Hampshire, White Horse Recovery has grown from a small organization into a leading nonprofit with 28 employees across four locations in Northern New Hampshire, providing both mental health and substance use disorder services, regardless of ability to pay.

If you or someone you know is struggling, you are not alone. White Horse Recovery offers services for those ready to start their journey to recovery. For more information, call 603-651-1441, Ext. 1.

Children at Family Fun Night in Ossipee

In partnership with Carroll County Coalition for Public Health (C3PH), White Horse Recovery will host a Family Fun Night on Friday, September 4 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at White Horse’s Recovery Center in Ossipee.

“This event is going to be so much fun for the whole family,” said Peer Recovery Coach Gracie Pedersen. “It’s amazing to see how the community connects when neighbors come together in a recovery-friendly setting.”

During the event, held at White Horse — Ossipee (70 Route 16B, Ossipee), there will be games including cornhole, activities, face painting, kid-friendly crafts, and live music, with food from Sober Chef’s Mobile Mad House. White Horse staff will also be on site to offer information about services and share resources. Information about C3PH will also be available.

“C3PH is such an incredible partner to White Horse,” Pedersen said. “We are lucky to have organizations in our community with missions that so closely align with ours.”

Founded in Center Ossipee, New Hampshire, White Horse Recovery has grown from a small organization into a leading nonprofit with 28 employees across four locations in Northern New Hampshire, providing both mental health and substance use disorder services, regardless of ability to pay.

If you or someone you know is struggling, you are not alone. White Horse Recovery offers services for those ready to start their journey to recovery. For more information, call 603-651-1441, Ext. 1.

Overdose Awareness Candlelight Vigil

On Saturday, September 12 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., White Horse Recovery will host its annual Overdose Awareness Candlelight Vigil at the Littleton Community Center. The evening will bring together families, friends, and neighbors to honor and remember those lost to overdose, support those who grieve, and strengthen the community through awareness and hope.

“Our main goal is to remember and recognize the people we’ve lost,” said Erika Collins, North Country Peer Recovery Assistant Director. “This is about raising awareness of how much our State has been impacted by substance use and standing together as a community to say that these lives mattered.”

The vigil, now in its seventh year, will feature several new additions, including a Resource Fair with five confirmed partner organizations: Recovery Friendly Workplace, Blue Heron Neurofeedback and Counseling, Grafton County Alternative Sentencing Program, the Littleton Police Department, and Harbor Care. These organizations will set up tables to share information and connect attendees with services that support recovery, wellness, and healing.

A Memory Wall will again anchor the evening, displaying photos of individuals lost to overdose. Community members are invited to bring a photo of a loved one to add to the wall or to submit one in advance by reaching out to White Horse Recovery’s Littleton office.

“If anybody has someone they want to recognize, we encourage them to bring in a photo so we can add them to the wall,” said Littleton Peer Recovery Coach Caitlyn Hilliard. “That’s how many of the photos on our banners today came to be — families and friends wanting to make sure their loved ones are seen and remembered.”

The evening will also include a candle lighting, music, and space for reflection. Community members who wish to share their own stories — whether as someone in recovery, a survivor of overdose, a family member, or a friend — are invited to speak during the vigil.

Those interested in speaking may contact Hilliard at cait@whitehorseac.com. “It doesn’t have to be someone who lost a family member,” she added. “A lot of people in recovery have experienced overdose in one form or another…Every story matters and every voice helps break the stigma.”

Harbor Care is the event sponsor. Families are welcome, and children’s activities will include rock painting and bubbles. The venue is also handicap accessible.

Collins said she hopes this year’s vigil will continue to build momentum and encourage more of the Littleton community to take part.

“Littleton is a nice little town up in the North Country, and the stigma around substance use is starting to lessen,” she said. “When our community comes together for events like this, it benefits everyone.”

Founded in Center Ossipee, New Hampshire, White Horse Recovery has grown from a small organization into a leading nonprofit with 28 employees across four locations in Northern New Hampshire, providing both mental health and substance use disorder services, regardless of ability to pay.

If you or someone you know is struggling, you are not alone. White Horse Recovery offers services for those ready to start their journey to recovery. For more information, call 603-651-1441, Ext. 1.

Erika Collins, North Country Peer Recovery Assistant Director at White Horse Recovery

What she found instead of judgment was a staff that took her under their wing and showed her that hope was still possible. “I came into this center in 2020 and asked for help,” she said. “The staff took me right under their wing and showed me that the hope was still there—that I could have what they had.”

Six years later, Collins is stepping into leadership, as White Horse Recovery has promoted her to North Country Peer Recovery Assistant Director. In this role, she will help guide recovery center operations, programming, and outreach across Northern Grafton and Coos Counties.

Her rise within White Horse tells the story of what peer recovery makes possible, as she began as a client, became a recovery coach, then a center manager, and now an assistant director. “By the grace of God, and a lot of hard work,” she said. “I am so grateful that I work for an organization that has stood by and let me grow into the leader that I know our communities need.”

According to Executive Director Matthew Plache, her story reflects what makes a Recovery Community Organization (RCO) different. As New Hampshire’s longest operating State supported RCO, White Horse offers peer support delivered by staff with lived experience—people who have walked the road themselves and can meet others where they are, without judgment.

“Erika is proof of everything we believe about recovery,” Plache explained. “She didn’t come to this work through a degree or a classroom. She came to it through lived experience, showing up every day, and building something out of a life she once thought she could only destroy. That’s not just her story—that’s the story of what peer recovery can do.”

The challenges Collins now works to address are steep. The North Country struggles with homelessness, limited mental health resources, transportation gaps, and food insecurity—barriers that make recovery even harder in rural New Hampshire, where reliable public transportation often does not exist.

“Every day, I come to work and help in any way that I can,” she said. “Some days, it is just listening, or helping with a ride, or having a coaching session with a client. We support so many people in their journey, at so many different levels, so I always lead with compassion to figure out a plan that will best help that client, especially in the moment.”

In her new role, Collins plans to strengthen relationships with staff in Berlin, deepen community connections, and bring more people through the doors of White Horse’s centers. She also intends to make youth programming a priority in both Littleton and Berlin.

Her reach already extends well beyond White Horse’s walls. She is one of the founders of the Littleton Winter Shelter, serves on the Tri-County Community Action Program (TCCAP) Board, and sits on the advisory board for Granite United Way’s Opioid Abatement Funding.

She was recently selected to serve on the Governor’s Commission Task Force 2026—and in 2024, she received the “Community Heart Award” from the North Country Health Consortium.

That connectedness is one of her strengths. “I am very connected and involved, and I think that is a strength I bring to my new role,” she said.

Founded in Center Ossipee, New Hampshire, White Horse Recovery has grown from a small organization into a leading nonprofit with 28 employees across four locations in Northern New Hampshire, providing both mental health and substance use disorder services, regardless of ability to pay.

If you or someone you know is struggling, you are not alone. White Horse Recovery offers services for those ready to start their journey to recovery. For more information, call 603-651-1441, Ext. 1.

Police officers serving ice cream at White Horse Recovery’s Cones with Cops event

On Saturday, August 8 at White Horse Recovery’s 2026 Cones with Cops event, the Berlin and Gorham Police Departments traded their law enforcement duties to scoop ice cream and connect with the community they serve.

“Cones with Cops brought together the recovery, law enforcement, and greater Berlin communities. Events like this remind people that they’re not alone, that there are resources and people here who care about them,” said Mitchell Henderson, Peer Recovery Director at White Horse Recovery. “When people feel welcomed and supported, that’s when change becomes possible.”

He said the event, which took place at Heritage Park in Berlin, was a “resounding success,” as more than 100 people were in attendance, while more than a dozen partnering agencies set up tables to share information and play games. These organizations included the Androscoggin Food Coop, the Berlin Community Prevention Coalition, the Berlin Police Department, Blue Heron Neurofeedback, The Community Builders Hub, Coos County Family Health, The Doorway, the Family Resource Center, the Gorham Police Department, North Country Health Consortium, North Country Peer Support, Tri County CAP, and YLTA.

Police officers served ice cream donated by The Bethel Sugar Shack and River’s Edge Takeout, while US Foods provided burgers and hot dogs. 2026 Cones with Cops sponsors included Coos County Family Health, The Bethel Sugar Shack, River’s Edge Takeout, US Foods, The Community Builders Hub, Dollar General, and Shaws. Raffle donors included Northeast ATV Rentals, Omni Mount Washington, Dalton Motor Sports, Gold House of Pizza, and others.

“The turnout was great,” added Henderson. “We look forward to continuing to build relationships in the communities we serve.”

Founded in Center Ossipee, New Hampshire, White Horse Recovery has grown from a small organization into a leading nonprofit with 28 employees across four locations in Northern New Hampshire, providing both mental health and substance use disorder services, regardless of ability to pay.

If you or someone you know is struggling, you are not alone. White Horse Recovery offers services for those ready to start their journey to recovery. For more information, call 603-651-1441, Ext. 1.