by Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger I am writing to update you on the City’s work to combat the opioid crisis that has made drug overdoses the leading cause of death for Americans under 50 years of age. A year and a half ago, the City of Burlington launched CommunityStat, a collaboration of dozens of State, law enforcement, and non-profit agencies to address the terrible toll of this crisis. That effort has inspired new, life-saving initiatives that I am hopeful will help us finally turn the tide of this crisis.
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This week, Seven Days reported on the City’s work to increase access to treatment medicine that has been shown to dramatically reduce opioid-related overdose deaths. Low barrier and rapid access to this medicine, known as buprenorphine, decreased overdose deaths in Rhode Island and France, and we believe it will have a significant impact here in Burlington as well. That’s why we are partnering with the Howard Center to begin a pilot program that will provide addicted individuals immediate access to buprenorphine at Safe Recovery, and a supply of bupe while they wait to get into longer-term treatment. |
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At the same time, our CommunityStat partner UVM Medical Center will become the first hospital in Vermont to offer patients recovering from an overdose a three-day buprenorphine prescription and a guarantee of either entering treatment or a refill after their last dose.And our Burlington Police Department Chief and State's Attorney Sarah Fair George have agreed not to prosecute anyone for illegally possessing buprenorphine – knowing this drug can be the gateway to long-term addiction recovery.
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Burlington and Vermont’s pursuit of these innovative strategies is gaining national attention. This month, the Vera Institute of Justice released an in-depth article profiling ours and our partners’ work to save lives and increase access to treatment. Writer Jennifer Trone concluded the article on this hopeful note: “It will only become clear in a future season whether the Burlington I visited during a freezing week in March was on the threshold of beating the opioid epidemic, but it seemed that way.” |
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We were also proud to have Chief del Pozo present 10 Standards of Care for police departments across the country at the Police Executive Research Forum meeting in Nashville. Burlington was part of a small group of cities and Johns Hopkins public health experts that created the standards of care, and they are closely aligned with the strategies the City of Burlington has determined to be most meaningful in turning the tide of the opioid crisis. I am hopeful these standards will provide valuable guidance for police departments across the State of Vermont and the country. |
You can track our progress on these and other efforts through the Chittenden County Opioid Alliance Dashboard. We are grateful for the CCOA’s partnership in this effort as well.
With these combined strategies, I am hopeful that we are on the verge of seeing a decline in the number of overdose deaths, and a big jump in the number of individuals regaining control of their lives.
June 18, 2018