After years of groundwork, a treatment center for opioid use disorder is set to open on Depot Street in downtown Bennington this week.
The opening will be a “real game changer for Bennington,” expanding access to methadone treatment and opioid use disorder recovery services in the region, said Kelly Dougherty, deputy commissioner of the Vermont Department of Health.
The department has sought to open an opioid treatment program in Bennington for many years, but the Covid-19 pandemic and challenges finding a provider and location stalled progress, Dougherty said. The department is grateful to work with the Bay Area Addiction Research Treatment program as the operator of the Bennington-based center offering medication-assisted recovery treatments, counseling and other support services, she said.
The Bay Area Addiction Treatment program runs similar centers in Berlin, St. Albans, St. Johnsbury and Newport.
The Vermont Department of Health provided a $3.9 million grant to help cover startup and operational costs of the program’s Bennington center. The grant will also help cover the cost of treatment for those without insurance through July 2026. The department does not want health insurance to be a barrier to access recovery resources, Dougherty said.
The center plans to open for clients starting Thursday, assuming its first shipment of medication arrives Wednesday as planned, she said.
Opioid treatment centers like this one must meet specific federal guidelines and safety measures, such as Drug Enforcement Agency regulations, so the department is glad the team has made it through “all those hurdles” and that the project is “going to be opening very soon,” Dougherty said.
Placing the center in downtown Bennington is intended to make the path to recovery easier and prevent further loss of lives to opioid use disorder in the region, Dougherty said. According to Department of Health data, rates of opioid-related death of Bennington County residents have fluctuated over the past decade, “but certainly there is a high need in the Bennington area,” she said.
Vermont’s model for opioid use disorder treatment follows the design of a “hub and spokes,” Dougherty said. Hubs are where people can regularly access methadone to treat opioid use disorder. Spokes are primary care providers, where people can be prescribed buprenorphine and transition to longer-term treatment, she said.
While Bennington has several spokes or primary care providers, Bennington Town Manager Stuart Hurd said residents have had to travel long distances to Brattleboro, Rutland or North Adams, Massachusetts, to receive methadone treatment. Now, locals can stay in their community while on the path to recovery, he said.
Lorna Mattern, chief executive officer of Bennington’s United Counseling Service, said health service providers and advocates in the region have been asking for a hub location in Bennington for more than five years. Mattern said the United Counseling Service is glad the community has access to methadone treatment locally.
“With access to treatment in their own community, individuals in recovery can lead fuller, more stable lives — free from the burden of daily out-of-town travel,” Mattern wrote in an email statement to VTDigger. “This means they can stay close to home, maintain employment, and spend more meaningful time with their families, all while receiving the support they need on their recovery journey.”
Bennington Select Board Chair Tom Haley said the new treatment center was a long time coming and can help break down roadblocks to residents receiving necessary medicine.
“We — like every other town in the country — are struggling with ways to help people with substance use disorder, and this is just one more way that we’re going to be able to do that,” Haley said.
