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The Vermont Association for Mental Health and Addiction Recovery

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Montpelier, VT
The Vermont Association for Mental Health and Addiction Recovery

We celebrate substance use disorder recovery through trainings, advocacy and leadership programs.

04/16/2026

Worried about someone's drinking but not sure what to say?

You're not alone in that uncertainty. Most people hesitate because they're afraid of saying the wrong thing, damaging the relationship, or making it worse.

Here's a place to start:

✔ Lead with care, not concern: "I've noticed you seem stressed lately. I'm here if you want to talk."
✔ Avoid ultimatums or labels. Stay curious, not confrontational.
✔ Don't try to fix it in one conversation.
✔ Take care of yourself too. Supporting someone you love is hard.

The fact that you're thinking about this means you already care. That's enough to start.

04/15/2026

One of the most common things people say about their drinking: "I could stop if I wanted to. I just don't want to."

Here's what the science tells us: alcohol changes the brain. Over time, it alters how we process stress, experience pleasure, and make decisions. Stopping isn't just a matter of wanting to.

That doesn't mean recovery isn't possible ... it ABSOLUTELY is! It does mean that willpower alone is rarely enough, and that asking for help isn't weakness. It's wisdom.

If you've been telling yourself "I could stop whenever," it might be worth a deeper look. You deserve honest answers, and real support.

04/14/2026

It doesn't always look like what we picture.

Alcohol use disorder isn't reserved for a certain type of person. It shows up in professionals, parents, students, and neighbors. It can look like a glass of wine every night to "decompress." It can look like being the life of the party. It can be invisible.

That's what makes Alcohol Awareness Month so important. Not to scare, but to inform. Understanding what alcohol use disorder actually looks like is the first step toward recognizing it. Recognizing it in ourselves or someone we love.

This month, we're sharing facts, reframes, and resources. We hope you'll follow along. 💚

04/13/2026

"Addiction is not a failure. Addiction is coping as well as one can because of past or current trauma."
— Will Roberts, Director of Training, VAMHAR

This reframe matters. When we understand addiction through the lens of trauma and survival, everything changes — including how we respond to people who are struggling.

This Alcohol Awareness Month, let's choose compassion over judgment.

04/09/2026

Here’s something we don’t say often enough:

Systems can unintentionally recreate the very outcomes they are trying to prevent.

When people leave incarceration without stable housing, employment, or care:

Instability increases.
Opportunity narrows.
And the path back to the system becomes more likely.

Research shows incarceration itself can sometimes increase the likelihood of reoffending due to disrupted social ties and reduced employment opportunities.

Not because people don’t want to move forward.

But because the conditions for success aren’t fully in place.

👉 Where do you see this cycle showing up?

04/08/2026

For many people, incarceration does not address the root causes of behavior.

◾ Addiction.
◾ Mental health.
◾ Trauma.
◾ Economic instability.

Instead, it often disrupts the very things that support stability:

◾ Connection to family.
◾ Employment.
◾ Access to care.

And when those supports are weakened, the likelihood of reoffending doesn’t decrease, it often increases.

We’re responding to symptoms.
But not investing enough in what actually leads to long-term change.

👉 What would it look like to respond differently?

04/07/2026

In Vermont, it can cost well over $100,000 per year to incarcerate one person.
That places us among the highest in the nation. Yet, many people leave incarceration without the support needed to stay stable.

So the question isn’t just what we’re spending.
It’s what we’re investing in.
Because if the outcome is continued instability, disconnection, and return to the system, we have to ask:

👉 Are we funding solutions ... or cycles?

04/06/2026

April is Alcohol Awareness Month and we invite you to go deeper than awareness. Let’s challenge what we’ve been taught.

💬 What if we replaced judgment with curiosity?
💬 What if support didn’t require someone to be at their worst?

This month - and every month - let’s build systems that meet people where they are at (and let us not leave them there).

04/03/2026

Connection can be healing ... if it feels safe.

Our new 30-minute course (at no cost), Empathetic Pathways: Communication Skills for Trauma Survivors, offers simple, practical tools to help you show up with care, respect, and understanding.

You’ll explore:
✨ listening with empathy
✨ using needs-based language
✨ avoiding judgment and stigma
✨ making clear, supportive requests

Plus, we’ll reflect on this powerful truth from Brené Brown:
"If we can share our story with someone who responds with empathy and understanding, shame can't survive."

Whether you’re a provider, peer, or community member, this course is for anyone who wants to communicate in ways that support healing.

🕒 Just 30 minutes. Real-life impact.
🔗 https://vamhar.learnupon.com/

04/02/2026

Too often, a criminal record becomes a permanent barrier. Not because of current risk, but because of how our systems are designed.

Applications are filtered.
Opportunities disappear.
Potential is overlooked.

And over time, that exclusion compounds.

Gaps in employment grow.
Confidence erodes.
Connection to community weakens.

And when people are locked out of opportunity, the outcome is not surprising:

Instability increases.
Disconnection deepens.
And the conditions that lead to reoffending are reinforced.

Not because people don’t want to move forward, but because the path forward isn’t fully open.

We can design systems differently.
👉 Where do you see these barriers showing up, and what would it take to remove them?

04/01/2026

We often call it “second chance hiring.” However, for many people, it’s not a second chance - it’s a third, a tenth, or a twentieth.

Not because people aren’t trying.

But because recovery, stability, and opportunity are shaped by systems that don’t always meet people where they are.

Housing isn’t stable.
Treatment isn’t consistent.
Employment isn’t accessible.

And then we ask why people struggle to move forward.

Recovery is not linear. And neither is the path back to stability.

What matters is not how many chances someone has had. It’s whether we are willing to offer a real opportunity now. One that is supported, sustainable, and rooted in dignity.

👉 What would it look like to build systems that make success possible, not just expected?

Address

1 Blanchard Court, Suite 204
Montpelier, VT
05602

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Website

https://www.vamhar.org/, https://recoveryvermont.learnupon.com/

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