Alcohol, drug, and tobacco use are leading causes of death and disability in Central Vermont. Reducing the harmful impacts of substance use requires focused attention, collaboration, and innovation. It also requires communities that care and are free of stigma and misunderstanding.
Founded in 2017, the Central Vermont Prevention Coalition (CVPC) is an interdisciplinary collaboration of professional organizations and agencies working in many fields, including substance use prevention, harm reduction and disease prevention, treatment, recovery, and restorative justice. Central Vermont Medical Center serves as the foundational member of the coalition. CVPC’s mission is to create a harmonized and stigma-free system of care in Central Vermont where there is no wrong door, no wrong time to get help and support for substance use disorders, and to prevent the initiation of substance use. The participation of people and families who have experienced the harms of substance use is vital to our work.
Our RCORP project, Building Safe Harbor, extends access to effective prevention efforts, treatment, and recovery services with a sustainable workforce throughout the towns and hollows of our rural Vermont county. We work assertively to reduce stigma and misunderstanding about SUDs and to understand the impact of COVID-19 on people and services touched by SUD in order to extend this access. This RCORP Implementation grant has allowed us to bring operational management to our already strong and effective coalition.
Important initiatives underway include collocating perinatal and medications for opioid use disorder services, establishing a short-term stabilization center for post-overdose care, conducting anti-stigma campaigns, installing NaloxBoxes, conducting community naloxone education/training, and establishing a Crisis Intervention Team in our region.