The Howard Center has shut down two substance abuse programs, citing staffing and other unspecified “challenges,” the nonprofit said Thursday.
The ACT 1 and Bridge programs, two substance abuse treatment initiatives, will be at least temporarily suspended, the Burlington nonprofit told staff in an email Wednesday.
“Due to a shortage of staffing and other challenges, we have made the difficult decision to suspend operation of the ACT 1 and Bridge programs beginning this week,” the Howard Center’s Chief Client Services Officer Beth Holden told staff in an email Wednesday.
The move would not affect current clients, and no staff would be laid off, Holden said.
“Staff vacancies in Howard Center’s crisis stabilization programs, including ACT 1 and Bridge, are now at 50 percent,” Holden wrote. “Our human resources team is recruiting aggressively using multi-media strategies including frequent job fairs and referral and signing bonuses, but the workforce challenges to attract and retain staff in our crisis stabilization programs continue.”
Paul Detzer, a spokesperson for the Howard Center, said Thursday that staff there were not available for an interview.
The two suspended programs were intended to guide Vermonters seeking to stop substance abuse, according to the Howard Center’s website.
ACT 1, a temporary detox facility, offered clients “a clean and supportive setting where they can stay while they regain their sobriety,” the website reads. “ACT 1 helps the person and family through the crisis, promotes stability, and recommends an appropriate follow-up level of care and assists with referrals.”
The Bridge program, meanwhile, provided “short-term stabilization, detoxification, and withdrawal management in a non-medical setting for individuals who are experiencing problematic alcohol or other drug use.”
Nolan Rampy, the vice president of the Howard Center’s union, said that the union was “incredibly frustrated” with the Howard Center.
“We have been aware for a long time of the staffing and retention issues in those programs,” Rampy said. “We have repeatedly offered to reopen contract negotiations with the agency in order to help address the staffing issues, and they have declined over and over again.”
The notice of the suspensions came just a day before the Howard Center announced that a new CEO will take over the organization later this year.
Sandra McGuire, the chief financial and operations officer at the Howard Center, will take the reins of the organization on June 1 of this year. McGuire replaces outgoing CEO Bob Bick, who is retiring at the end of May.
“McGuire stood out in a robust field of national candidates for her deep understanding of the agency’s operational and fiscal needs, thoughtful and collaborative approach to leadership, passion for the mission, and commitment to excellence and inclusivity for our clients, staff, and community,” Kelly Deforge, the president of Howard Center’s board, said in a Thursday press release.
The two program suspensions are the latest in a series of cuts at the Howard Center, which has a budget of $134 million and 1,600 employees.
Last spring, the nonprofit reduced the number of beds available in both the ACT 1 and Bridge programs, saying it did not have the staff to fill positions there. And over the summer, the Howard Center announced that it was closing four other programs, citing the “cumulative effects of years of underfunding.”
