History

History of Farnum

Farnum opened in Manchester in 1981 under the leadership of Eliot Priest, a retired executive from Public Service of New Hampshire and Board Member at Catholic Medical Center. From the beginning, Farnum was established as an affordable treatment facility for recovery from alcohol and other drugs. In 2008, Farnum joined the Easterseals NH family!

Just two years later in 2010, Alex Ray, entrepreneur and owner of the Common Man family restaurants, approached Farnum with an offer to merge with the Webster Place Recovery Center in Franklin, NH—a facility he had developed on the Daniel Webster Homestead in 2007.

With these two established programs, we were off and running to help people on their road to recovery. Concurrently, New Hampshire began experiencing an alarming rise in deaths due to heroin and other opioids.

Seeing the ever-increasing need for more treatment beds in the state, Farnum launched a massive $1.1 million capital campaign in 2012 to move Farnum in Manchester to a completely renovated, state-of-the-art facility across town. Farnum Center at Queen City features the state’s first non-hospital-based Medical Detox unit, opened in 2013, which doubled the number of treatment beds available to 60.

Unfortunately, as the addiction epidemic continues to rise in the state, so does the need for even more treatment beds.

In 2015, Farnum began a major renovation to obtain licensing from the State of NH in Franklin, NH to expand the available services. The major renovation of one of the buildings on the campus was bolstered by a large challenge gift to the community issued by Alex Ray. Over just 30 days in late 2015, we raised more than $280,000 to renovate what is now known as the Ray House. This 21-bed facility provided services to women seeking treatment, veterans, and first responders.

In 2017, Farnum Outpatient moved to a new building. Farnum expanded its outpatient space to meet the overwhelming need for outpatient services in the Manchester area. The new facility hosts all outpatient services and Open Access Assessments.

In 2018, Farnum Queen City opened a Stabilization Unit to receive clients accessing the Safe Station via the Manchester Fire Department. This 16-bed, clinically licensed residential treatment unit provides clients with structured treatment, referral, and placement in NH facilities, physical health screenings, and substance use disorder programming.

In 2019 we renovated Ray House again to welcome both women and men into the house while residing on different floors. This serene, “homelike” environment features separate, combined, 3 Principles-based programming to guide clients on their road to recovery.

We look to the future with much hope and remain committed to offering comprehensive treatment and recovery services to all.

Our Accomplishments