Howard Center
| Nonprofit organization | |
| Industry | Community mental health, substance abuse, educational, and developmental services |
| Founded | 1969 (Chittenden County, Vermont, U.S.) |
| Headquarters | Burlington, Vermont, U.S. |
|
Area served
|
Vermont counties of Chittenden and Grand Isle |
|
Key people
|
Bob Bick |
| Website | http://howardcenter.org/ |
The Howard Center is a Burlington, Vermont-based nonprofit organization that offers professional crisis and counseling services to children and adults; supportive services to individuals with autism and developmental disabilities who need help with education, employment, and life maintenance skills; counseling and medical services for those struggling with substance use disorders; and interventions and supports for adults with serious and persistent mental health challenges. HowardCenter collaborates with many community partners and is a funded agency of the United Way in Chittenden County, the U.S. state of Vermont's most populous county.
Services and supports are community-based and provided in more than 60 locations, including area schools, hospitals, emergency rooms, and client homes, in addition to HowardCenter offices and residential homes. In 2015, HowardCenter’s professional staff of 1,500 helped more than 16,000 people, primarily in Chittenden County, but also in the other Vermont counties of Franklin, Grand Isle, and Rutland.
Founded in 1865 as the Home for Destitute Children, HowardCenter is now the largest of Vermont’s designated agencies representing Vermont’s System of Care.
It is currently the largest community-based center in Vermont and one of the largest in New England. Two significant events in the organization’s history occurred in 1966 and in 1994. In 1966 the agency received its designation as the community mental health center for Chittenden County under the federal Community Mental Health Act of 1963. In 1994, the Howard Center for Human Services, merged with Champlain Drug and Alcohol Services, and The Baird Center for Children and Families into one organization, forming Howard Center today.
In 2009, they were criticized, along with several other state-dependent agencies, for appearing to overpay officers and directors.
The organization maintains three separate hotlines that operate 24/7 for mental health crises involving children and families, adults, and alcohol and drug crisis intervention:
The organization operates four specialized therapeutic schools:
When the Chittenden Clinic was established in 2002, it was the first medication assisted treatment clinic for opioid addiction in Vermont. From July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2015, the Clinic provided treatment and support to 1,079 individuals. Safe Recovery serves people who are currently using cocaine, heroin, or who are in early recovery from opioid dependence. Services include syringe exchange, drug treatment options counseling, HIV and hepatitis C testing and referrals, hepatitis A and B vaccination, distribution of Naloxone overdose rescue kits, corrections outreach, basic needs assistance, advocacy, and other recovery support services. All services are offered free of charge, and many can be accessed anonymously. From July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2015, Safe Recovery provided services and supports to 3,842 individuals. In December 2013, Safe Recovery began distributing Naloxone kits to reverse overdoses from opioids. Since then, 375 overdose reversals have been reported from the kits the program distributed.
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Wikipedia