• On June 21, the University of Vermont Health Network (UVMNH) opened a new, 18-room adult inpatient psychiatric unit at Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital (CVPH) in Plattsburgh, NY. At 19,000 square feet, the facility triples the size of CVPH’s previous psych ward....
In 2017, the Vermont General Assembly created a Mental Health Crisis Response Commission for the purpose of “conducting reviews of law enforcement interactions with persons” in extreme mental states. New Hampshire could be the next state to institutionalize this form...
On Aug. 1, the Vermont Department of Mental Health (DMH) distributed a “notice of intent to procure community-based mobile crisis intervention services.” The document announced an upcoming request for proposals (RFP), whereby, in November, DMH will solicit vendors to...
Early this year, Sara Merrow began a three-year term as president of the board of directors at Vermont Psychiatric Survivors (VPS), the civil rights advocacy organization that publishes Counterpoint. Merrow succeeded Zachary Hughes, a peer supporter who works at...
The Massachusetts General Court concluded its 2022 legislative session on July 31 without passing a bill that would have created a board of registration to certify the state’s peer support workers. A few months earlier, Vermont’s peer-led organizations had lamented...
For the first time in three years, Vermonters gathered in the streets for Mad Pride on July 16. According to the event’s press materials, “Mad Pride is about challenging discrimination against folks the world has labeled ‘mentally ill,’ advocating for rights,...
