This commentary is by the Rev. Devon Thomas. He serves the Ascension Lutheran Church in South Burlington.
As a minister in Vermont, I find that the realities of our state’s opioid crisis are ever-present. We know it is a problem, but there is a great difference between knowledge and understanding, and now that I have taken on ministry in the Burlington area, I understand the reason we need safe injection sites for our neighbors struggling with opioid addiction.
During my previous pastorate in Lamoille County, I met many parishioners who had a friend, child, or neighbor whose life was affected by opioid addiction. Serving three congregations at the time, it was not uncommon for one of my churches to be a first or last stop for a person needing help or for our property to become an overnight refuge for people with nowhere else to go.
Ministers in Vermont are generally aware of how poverty, homelessness and drug addiction tear into our local communities. We know something needs to be done, however, we do not always agree on how best to address these crises. The reality is that, like many Vermonters, not all ministers are close enough to people’s problems to understand them. We think we can help, but our understanding is not always based on firsthand knowledge or experience.
That is why I bring up the issue of overdose prevention centers. I had not always seen how necessary these services are for us in Vermont, but since I took up ministry in South Burlington, my perspective has changed. It has changed because I have seen people suffering in a manner I never had before I got here.
In the countryside, ministers are educated on our need to help those struggling with drug addiction. We are encouraged to keep Narcan on our property and to give to groups like the Howard Center and Jenna’s Promise. We are told that we need to respond to the opioid crisis, and most of us accept this knowledge as true, but not every minister has the opportunity to understand why it is true.
In the countryside, the opioid crisis looks different than it does in a place like Burlington. In the small town communities I served, the crisis was easy to hide and keep private. In Burlington, the crisis is at the front door.
Ever since joining the Burlington Interfaith Clergy Council, I have had the opportunity to meet ministers serving the Burlington metro area. I have had the opportunity to see what opioid addiction does to a person. Those ministers helped me to see how opioids cut with Clorox, fentanyl, or whatever else sellers can get their hands on, can leave a person lying on a church doorstep with horrific open wounds. They have shared stories of how on more than one occasion they have needed to call the authorities to have dead people taken from church property. At my church in South Burlington, we do not regularly see that level of desperation, but we too need to regularly check the playground behind our church to make sure no used needles are lying around.
A change of location has changed my understanding of the opioid crisis here in Vermont. We need overdose prevention centers here in our community. I know these sites are controversial to many, but they help keep people safe by keeping the crisis contained. They keep safe both those who are struggling with opioid addiction and the rest of us, who are trying to understand it.
