BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – A substance use recovery coaching program that’s been successful in the Rutland area is now expanding to inmates in other parts of the state.
“I meet with him every week. He motivates me to keeping on and living life on life’s terms,” said Michael St. Pierre.
The Rutland man says he has been in and out of prison since he was 16. Now 60, St. Pierre says he is trying get his life back on track with the help of a recovery coach he saw while in prison. “I guess it was to be able to be free of making my own choices instead of having corrections make them for me all the time. I wanted to be able to be clean and sober because I see how people from Turning Point change their lives,” St. Pierre said.
Rutland’s Turning Point Center has had recovery coaches visit inmates since 2016 but this year the program has sent coaches behind bars in South Burlington. A coach has been meeting with as many as five inmates a day working to cultivate a system of connection, hoping to keep up the relationships after release.
“Much of what recovery coaching is, is allowing the person’s inner resources to shine through. I have people who continuously show up for their sessions, you know. And that, to me, tells me that it is something they need,” said Mars White, a recovery coach.
Vermont Corrections Commissioner Nick Deml agrees. He says around 70 percent of Vermont inmates struggle with some form of opioid use disorder and that they are trying to incorporate the Turning Point program at every prison by next year. “We have seen the efficacy of this program, we know that it works. So, finding ways to expand it has been our key priority. The governor helped us to secure some funding. The Legislature has also put some money in the state appropriations space. We have also looked to our federal partners,” he said
As of August, 124 people have died in Vermont this year from an opioid overdose. While slightly lower than the three-year average of 15, it shows the problem remains persistent.
As Vermont continues to search for solutions, participants in the Turning Point program like St. Pierre say it’s exactly what they need. “It is important to me because these people see value and goodness in me, something that I don’t see in myself,” he said.