The Connections App provides 24/7 peer support for individuals battling opioid, alcohol, and other substance use disorders
SANTA FE – The New Mexico Human Services Department (HSD) announced today that they are partnering with CHESS Health to provide peer support via the eRecovery Connections app for community members in treatment and recovery for substance use disorder.
The app is part of the Connections for Recovery Initiative, which equips New Mexico’s behavioral health providers with an additional tool to support people battling opioid, alcohol, or other substance use disorder.
“The Connections app is a support tool to be used in conjunction with treatment for people with substance use disorder or people experiencing behavioral health issues,” said Angela Medrano, deputy secretary for the New Mexico Human Services Department. “This tool helps increase treatment adherence and supports individuals on their path to recovery.”
“We need to do everything we can to keep helping people achieve sustained recovery from substance use disorder,” said Neal Bowen, PhD., Director of HSD’s Behavioral Health Services. “That’s exactly why the time is right for us to support individuals day and night, no matter where they are —We can do that with the Connections app.”
HSD partnered with CHESS Health to provide a set of evidence-based digital tools and peer support as an extension of treatment and therapy for substance use disorder. These tools help individuals reduce isolation, build confidence, and adhere to a treatment and recovery plan. The Connections app is available at no cost to providers and patients through tribal health centers, community health centers that are federally qualified health centers, sober living residences, and through other resources such as the 988 crisis support line.
The connections app includes specialized support for teens, pregnant and postpartum people, and returning citizens with experience in the justice system. The app is also available directly to community members here.
Additional app-based technology currently available to New Mexicans is the NMConnect app, designed as an extension of the New Mexico Crisis and Access Line’s array of services and a tool for finding resources.
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About the Department of Human Services
We talk, interpret and smile in all languages. We provide written information to our customers in both English and Spanish and interpretation services are available in 58 languages through our provider, CTS Language Link. For our hearing, and speech impaired customers, we utilize Relay New Mexico, a free 24-hour service that ensures equal communication access via the telephone to individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind or speech disabled.
The Human Services Department provides services and benefits to 1,066,409 New Mexicans through several programs including: the Medicaid Program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Child Support Program, and several Behavioral Health Services.
About CHESS Health
CHESS Health is the leading provider of service-enabled technology supporting the entire addiction management and recovery lifecycle. The CHESS platform virtually manages recovery across the continuum, getting more patients into treatment (eIntervention), improving outcomes through digital CBT (eTherapy), and reducing relapse and enabling long-term recovery (eRecovery). Nationally recognized by SAMSHA and NREPP, CHESS Health’s evidence-based platform helps providers, health plans, and government organizations achieve higher abstinence rates, reduce relapses, and lower the cost of care. For more information, visit www.chess.health.