Lena Nirk for New Hampshire
LENA NIRK
“We need representatives who will put families and children first, ahead of partisan politics in Concord. I will work to make progress on commonsense solutions for safer communities, fight for reproductive and healthcare freedoms including increased mental health supports, and advocate for protection of our land, lakes, rivers and climate.”
WHY ME, WHY NOW
I moved to New Hampshire in 2016 and started to look for work as a Health Coach. News of the opioid epidemic was everywhere as NH was 2nd or 3rd nationally in overdose deaths and the numbers were increasing. Navigating Recovery of the Lakes Region had just opened in Laconia and after taking some additional training, I became a Substance Use Recovery Coach. I learned a lot during my 5 years at Navigating Recovery as I worked with many individuals struggling with substance use disorder and with their families who were also in crisis, desperate with fear, guilt, anger, shame, worry, confusion, lack of information and hopelessness in the face of their loved one’s addiction.
After retiring in 2021, I volunteered at St Vincent de Paul as the rental support coordinator. St Vincent is a small Catholic charity that has a terrific thrift store, and we use the proceeds from the store to provide support for needy members of the community for back rent, dental care, utility bills and car repair. Our food pantry was an essential resource for people during the pandemic, and I really appreciate the opportunity to help people through St Vincent.
And then in May of 2022, the Uvalde school shooting happened. The brutality of that event, in addition to the ominous and constant procession of often racist and anti-semitic gun violence made me want to do something to help prevent future tragedies. I joined Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense and learned a lot about gun violence in NH. Our state has relatively low levels of gun violence but of that violence, a shocking 88% is suicide by gun. Suicide and substance use can be understood as the byproducts of despair and hopelessness, and we have opportunities to implement commonsense, bipartisan, proven safety measures, including mental health support, that protect our children and give families tools to prevent warning signs from escalating into tragedy.