Donate to Recovery Partners of Vermont
Why donate?
The Recovery Partners of Vermont is a system of community recovery organizations that provide support for individuals and their families seeking recovery from substance use disorder.
Our recovery support services help people rebuild their lives and become productive members of society. We provide peer support, evidence-based services, educational programs, and recovery training in safe, supportive environments. Recovery Organizations are staffed by well-trained, knowledgeable people—primarily volunteers—who can connect individuals to appropriate community resources.
Our organizations often serve as the front door for addiction treatment. We help people get into recovery while they’re waiting to get into treatment. A third of the people coming to the organizations start their recovery without treatment, while many others receive support before, during, and after treatment.
Vermont’s Recovery Organizations do not have sufficient resources to realize the potential they have demonstrated. Our need for additional funding has grown over the years as the depth and breadth of our services has increased.
The organizations all agreed that they need full-time directors and sufficient staff to ensure that experienced recovery support workers are present during all hours of operation.
Currently, each recovery organization receives approximately $93,000 in state support annually. The organizations have reviewed their budgets and $60,000 per organization additional funds, would enable them to lay a solid foundation for achieving a sustainable level of operations. We believe this will position organizations to provide formal recovery support services. It will enable organizations to staff supervision of our peer recovery support services. Every day we are asked to play more of a role in supporting people coming out of jail, treatment, homeless and lacking transportation. We are working with families and friends who desperately need recovery support as well.
A recent outcome study of recovery coaching in Vermont’s recovery organizations has demonstrated statistically significant changes in the lives of participants. These changes include reduced involvement with courts, corrections, emergency rooms, and detoxification programs.
We hope you will consider donating to the Recovery Partners of Vermont and recovery organizations in VT! We look forward to pursuing Foundation funding and charitable contributions would greatly enhance our ability to continue to provide vital recovery services, free of charge, to those who need it most.
More of what we do and want to sustain:
Vermont continues to be a pioneer in the national recovery movement. We’ve created a statewide recovery system with standards, accountability, and evidence-based recovery support services. Recovery is part of the continuum of care, including prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery. The Recovery Partners of Vermont has been growing since 2007.
Vermont has 12 peer run recovery organizations, these 12 Recovery Organizations (ROs) are located across the 12 Vermont Agency of Human Service Districts throughout Vermont. Recovery Partners of Vermont is an independent recovery community organization (RCO), functioning as an independent 501(c)3 since 2009. During FY-16 people looking for recovery support made 193,961 visits to Vermont RCs. Participants reported attending RCs an average of 12.4 times per month over an average of 4.4 months. Based on these figures, we can estimate the number of individuals served in FY 2016 was 3,555. This figure may be conservative as many people refuse to “sign in” at organizations with sign in sheets and in organizations where volunteers are tasked with counting visitors, volunteers struggle to maintain accurate counts as they prioritize helping RO visitors. These factors have led to significant under reporting, but this approach protects the cultural norm of anonymity.
In addition, eleven ROs supervise part time MAT Guides; peer recovery workers who offer supports and services to individuals taking part in Medicated Assisted Treatment (MAT). Recovery Partners of Vermont‘s SAMHSA-funded (Federal grant) “Pathways to Recovery” expanded the availability of recovery supports for people in Vermont’s “Hub and Spoke” system for treating opiate addiction. Over 626 individuals were served under this 3-year federal grant. In addition to demonstrating statistically significant positive outcomes in increased recovery capital, increased/sustained abstinence, decreased mental health symptoms, increased employment, and decreased criminal activity, MAT providers were interviewed and spoke to the critical importance of MAT Guides. One MAT provider shared: “The lived experience is invaluable. There is an innate trust because he’s been there. Only people in recovery can give that.” Another stated: “In our minds, we know as Suboxone prescribers, people need a lot more hands-on recovery support than we could ever provide…. It’s kind of like having a sponsor. It’s an additional structure and support that they so need.” With fiscal support from the Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Programs (ADAP), the MAT Guide services are partially sustained through June of 2019 with the Recovery Partners of Vermont continuing to strategize on long-term sustainability.
Recovery Partners of Vermont continues to be the coordinating network for so many great recovery support services.
If you would like to make a donation by check, please make the check payable to Recovery Partners of Vermont and mail it to:
Recovery Partners of Vermont
P.O. Box 3042
Burlington, VT 05408-3042