• The Vermont Truth and Reconciliation Commission held its first public meeting on Sept. 5, shortly after hiring an executive director, Faith Yacubian. The legislature has instructed the Commission to “begin the process of dismantling institutional, structural, and systemic discrimination in Vermont, both past and present,” against groups including people with psychiatric “conditions.”
• A senior behavioral interventionist at Howard Center, Katie Harris, won an election to become president of the Vermont AFL-CIO, a labor federation representing 20,000 members of affiliated unions. Harris, who ran as part of the left-wing United! slate, serves as a secretary and steward for AFSCME 1674.
• Residents of the Lakeview Community Care Home in Burlington will reportedly relocate to a new, 8,000-square-foot facility on Route 7 in Shelburne “early in the new year.” Former senator Patrick Leahy, who secured a congressional earmark to fund the project before his retirement, joined Howard Center to celebrate its construction in an event in September.
• The North Central Vermont Recovery Center added 1,500 square feet to its location in Morrisville in September. According to the News & Citizen, the supplemental space will house meetings, events, and “a growing number of peer recovery coaches who help those in recovery from substance abuse.”
• Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont, the state’s largest private health insurer, publicized a new partnership with Brooklyn-based Valera Health, which provides online psychotherapy and psychiatric care for adults and children. Policyholders began booking virtual appointments in October.
• Following accusations of financial and managerial problems last winter, Green Mountain Support Services, a Morrisville-based nonprofit overseen by the Vermont Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living, won provisional “redesignation” as one of the five state-contracted “specialized service agencies” in October. A temporary partnership with Champlain Community Services reportedly helped GMSS improve practices and avoid a near closure.
• This fall, the Vermont Department of Mental Health announced a new flood recovery outreach program called Starting Over Strong Vermont. According to DMH, Vermonters in the nine counties affected by July’s natural disaster can receive free, nonclinical support in their homes and communities by dialing 2-1-1.
• Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark sued Meta, which operates Facebook and Instagram, on behalf of its young users for allegedly harming their mental health. A total of 43 states coordinated to file joint or independent lawsuits against the company on the same basis in October.
• The Vermont Agency of Human Services announced in November that it would rush to establish four to five new homeless shelters in anticipation of a round of evictions at state-funded motels on April 1.
• iCare Health Network, based in Connecticut, won a contract from the Vermont Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living to provide “specialized” care for seniors with complex needs, including psychiatric disabilities. The for-profit company plans to buy an existing licensed facility in Bennington, owned by Genesis HealthCare.