Senator Patrick Leahy Announces $1M In USDA Funding For Turning Point Center Of Central Vermont

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U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) announced that the Turning Point Center of Central Vermont, which supports all paths to addiction recovery, will be receiving a $1 million grant from the USDA Emergency Rural Health Care Grant program. These funds will be used alongside a Leahy fiscal year 2022 Congressionally Directed Spending provision that he secured for $750,000 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for the renovation of an historic building that will become the center's new home.

The project is also receiving a $300,000 Community Development Block Grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The center, located in Barre, is investing $416,300 in the project with the total cost expected to be between $2.5 million and $3 million.

"The expansion of the Turning Point Center of Central Vermont which will result from its relocation is crucial as overdoses continue to rise in Vermont and around the country. Places like Turning Point provide the crucial support our friends and neighbors need as they struggle to recover from substance use disorder," said Leahy. "I am proud to have played a role in this project, which will allow the center to better serve those in need while also preserving an historic building."

The renovated and expanded building will provide more group meeting space and more accessible parking. The center, which employs eight recovery coaches, will also be able to expand its programming as a result of the relocation.

"Within a year of ERHC grants being introduced, we've already seen first-hand how these crucial investments are having transformational impacts on the ground," said Sarah Waring, USDA Rural Development Director for Vermont and New Hampshire. "Guests and staff at Turning Point Center will benefit profoundly with near-term capacity building and modernization, while the long-term improvements for people in recovery, their families and community are immeasurable. It is past time to build and invest in infrastructure that supports recovery partners across our states, and I am thrilled Rural Development can be a part of it."

"This new building can show what a recovery center can do for a community," said Bob Purvis, executive director of the Turning Point Center of Central Vermont. "This project can be a model for how recovery centers can be funded and developed around the state."

Purvis expects construction on the project will begin next spring.

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