6 weeks, 1 bed, 10 lives: A Newport recovery center provides space for hope in the opioid crisis
The furniture is not fancy — a single bed bumps up to a leather recliner just steps from a small desk. But sunlight pours in from a large window, and friends are there.
The small room is part of the Journey to Recovery Community Center in Newport, located in a woodsided office building, across the street from North Country Hospital and a short walk from the eastern shore of Lake Memphremagog. The space opened six weeks ago to provide an option for short-term, 24-hour peer support for people in crisis from substance use who want to begin their recovery. The first day was, so far, the busiest.
“It was the day after Thanksgiving,” said Lila Bennett, the center’s executive director since 2020. “We had one person in the bed and three people in the emergency room.”