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Addressing Vermont’s increase in opioid overdose deaths

a large red opioid overdose kit with instructions on how to treat someone overdosed
Jim Cole
/
Vermont Department of Health
An opioid overdose kit includes instructions for administering naloxone, an overdose medication.

Vermont’s opioid overdose deaths have increased three years in a row. Part of the blame is the drug xylazine, which the White House calls an emerging threat. We'll talk to Vermont's health commissioner on plans to use opioid settlement money to bolster the state's response to addiction. And we'll discuss the importance of harm reduction with other health experts.

Our guests are:

  • Dr. Mark Levine, Vermont commissioner of health
  • Betsy Fowler, director of mental health and substance abuse services, Community Health Centers
  • Theresa Vezina, executive director, Vermont CARES

Recovery and treatment resources:

  • Call 2-1-1
  • provides free, confidential, non-judgmental support and referrals to treatment, recovery, and other services: 802-565-LINK
  • Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Helpline: 1-800-662-4357
  • Vermont Crisis Text Line: Text “VTâ€� to 741741
  • Valley Vista Addiction Treatment: (802) 222-5201, email [email protected]
  • : Staff is available 24/7 to answer phone calls.
  • Serenity House: (802) 446-2640 
  • Grace House: (802) 775-3476 
  • : Phone (802) 445-3039
  • : Phone (802)738-8998
  •  Email [email protected], Phone (802) 265-6414
  • : 24 hour helpline (802) 862-4516 or toll free (866) 580-8718
  • : Phone (802) 864-7467
  • s

Broadcast live on Monday, April 17, 2023, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.

Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message or check us out on .

Mikaela Lefrak is the host and senior producer of Vermont Edition. Her stories have aired nationally on Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Weekend Edition, Marketplace, The World and Here & Now. A seasoned local reporter, Mikaela has won two regional Edward R. Murrow awards and a Public Media Journalists Association award for her work.
Andrea Laurion joined ¿ªÔÆÌåÓý as a news producer for Vermont Edition in December 2022. She is a native of Pittsburgh, Pa., and a graduate of the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies in Portland, Maine. Before getting into audio, Andrea worked as an obituary writer, a lunch lady, a wedding photographer assistant, a children’s birthday party hostess, a haunted house actor, and an admin assistant many times over.