New shelter addresses ‘real gap in our system’ for unhoused people in recovery from addiction

Read the full article at vermontpublic.org. Below is an excerpt.

A new shelter is opening for unhoused people seeking recovery from addiction.

Located in the Queen City’s downtown, the Bridges Recovery Shelter will be the first of its kind in Chittenden County and among just a few in the state. It will be operated by the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity in a building owned by the Howard Center, a site that used to host a detox facility.

“We know there is a real gap in our system. People complete residential treatment and have few stable and recovery-focused places to go. Others are working hard on their sobriety in environments that make that work even harder,” said Sandy McGuire, CEO of the Howard Center, a mental health and substance use services nonprofit, at an opening event for the new Bridges shelter on Monday. “This recovery shelter was designed to meet those needs.”

For many people experiencing homelessness in Vermont, the first stop off the streets is a “low- barrier” shelter that lacks strict rules around sobriety. That model offers a critical option to get people who use drugs indoors, but these low-barrier settings can be difficult places to stay sober.

“Witnessing someone who is trying very hard to maintain recovery in an environment that is just not as supportive as it could be to them, is absolutely heartbreaking,” said Sarah Russell, emergency services director for CVOEO.

CVOEO plans to take referrals from other shelters for the 10 to 12 beds at Bridges, in order to open up spaces at low-barrier shelters for people leaving unsheltered homelessness. The nonprofit plans to start taking referrals this week.

The Bridges shelter will be supported by clinicians on site, as well as regular recovery group meetings and peer-to-peer support systems.