Peer recovery groups urge $800,000 in level funding to preserve statewide services

Susie Walker, executive director of Recovery Partners of Vermont, asked the Senate committee to include $800,000 in the FY27 budget to level-fund peer recovery centers statewide. "That's how important it is to the health of our recovery center system and the Vermoners we serve," Walker said, warning that a loss of funding would force curtailment of services and staff reductions while demand is increasing.

Rosemary Ross, executive director of the Turning Point Center of Central Vermont, echoed the request and highlighted recent investments in staff credentialing and center certification. Ross said losing funding would set back progress and lengthen the time it takes to rebuild trained staff, noting that certification requires months of full-time work.

Both witnesses framed the request as fiscally responsible, arguing recovery centers reduce pressure on emergency departments, law enforcement, and inpatient care and that the investment preserves community-based, lived-experience-led supports.