A new stopover for someone on track toward deliverance from drug or alcohol dependency

 The Journey to Recovery Community Center recently added a new stopover for someone on track toward deliverance from drug or alcohol dependency. It’s a “social detox” pilot program that provides people a place to stay in the center located across from North Country Hospital, at 212 Prouty Dr., in the Birchwood Medical office building. Social detox is when someone is trying to stop using substances and is experiencing discomfort, but that discomfort is not life-threatening.  Center Director Lila Bennett said the new one-bed detox space at the center is termed “social” to communicate that it offers no medical intervention. It serves as a new option between emergency medical care for someone experiencing physical impacts from drug and alcohol addiction and a longer-term in-patient setting where the dependency can be addressed. Bennett called the new program the first of its kind in Vermont. For someone to be eligible for the recovery center social detox space, he or she must first go to North Country Hospital and be medically cleared for life-threatening symptoms. “Once cleared, they can transfer across the street to the center and be supported while the JTRCC staff help the client access resources and transition to the level of care best for them,” Bennett noted. For questions, call JTRCC at 802-624-4156.