A semi-retired corporate executive, Portsmouth resident Brian Gibb has been elected president of the board of directors at The Chase Home in Portsmouth.
Founded in 2016 by The Chase Home, the Seacoast Community Diversion Program (SCDP) diverts first-time youth offenders from the traditional juvenile justice system. Based on Restorative Justice-based principles, SCDP differs from probation in its focus on the underlying problems of a youth’s criminalized behavior.
In November, Northeast Credit Union (Northeast CU) invested $10,000 to support The Chase Home, a major gift that brought both organizations together in service of a shared community vision.
Knights of Columbus, Portsmouth Council #140 recently donated $2,000 to support The Chase Home, which works with at-risk youth and families throughout the Seacoast and New Hampshire.
On Friday, May 5, Seacoast Oral Surgery Center & Lakes Region Oral Surgery Center will host a gala at AC Hotel in Portsmouth with proceeds to benefit The Chase Home and Operation Smile. “We are thrilled to support both organizations,” said Shannon Pietrowicz, implant and public relations coordinator at Seacoast Oral Surgery Center.
The Chase Home has received a $5,000 grant from the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation’s Richard Spence Lockhart Fund. Founded in 1877, The Chase Home in Portsmouth provides at-risk youth across the state with prevention, early intervention, residential, and community-based services.
The Chase Home recently received a $10,000 general operating support grant from The Webster Foundation. Meme Wheeler, executive director of The Chase Home, referred to the grant as “unexpected.”
On the first Friday of each month this year, Jersey Mike’s Portsmouth will provide free regular subs to 10 to 15 youth residents who live at The Chase Home.
The Chase Home recently received a $2,800 donation from The 1623 Foundation, a Portsmouth-based local charitable organization founded by 10 local seacoast residents in 2022. “Chase Home was our inaugural vote winner,” said Co-Founder James Tobin, who said their name is “a play on the year in which Portsmouth was settled.”
One of the unique aspects about The Chase Home is length of employment of some staff, especially in leadership roles, a fact that Executive Director Meme Wheeler said helps produce “stronger therapeutic and clinical outcomes.”
“The workforce shortage is real, so there are challenges for us, but we have been fortunate that some staff members have been with us for years,” she said.