Record staffing shortage leads Howard Center to reduce ‘crisis beds’
VTDigger
A record staffing shortage has led the Howard Center to reduce the number of “crisis beds” in Burlington and combine programs in a move some say will leave vulnerable people seeking support for substance use disorder and mental health issues in the lurch.
The Act 1 program — a temporary detox facility on Pearl Street with six beds — will no longer provide beds. Instead, it will only screen walk-in clients and refer them to other programs. Three other Howard Center programs have cut bed capacity in half, according to Bob Bick, the organization's chief executive officer.
“It’s the worst it’s ever been,” said Bick, of the staffing crisis at the state’s largest social services agency.
The organization, which has a staff of 1,600 when fully staffed, is trying to fill 197 full-time and part-time positions and 220 substitute vacancies — the highest since the start of the pandemic.