Leaders of peer-led recovery centers testified that a recent FY26 allocation left several centers with budget shortfalls, and they asked the House Appropriations Committee for a $420,000 one-time adjustment to cover six centers’ shortfalls.

Lila Bennett, executive director of Journey to Recovery Community Center in Newport, said Recovery Partners of Vermont requested $1.6 million last year to sustain programming statewide; the legislature provided $800,000 as one-time FY26 funds but distributed $50,000 per center with the remainder allocated by Medicaid population maps, creating a mismatch with the partners’ recommended distribution and leaving six organizations in need of additional funding.

Danielle Willis of the Turning Point Center of Addison County, speaking for Recovery Partners of Vermont, characterized the $420,000 request as sustainability funding to preserve existing services, not expansion. Willis cited service increases — group participation up 20%, one-on-one recovery coaching up 27% — and warned that without the adjustment, centers could cut access at a time of rising demand.

What’s next: Testimony will be considered alongside written materials and budget staff analyses; no committee action occurred at the hearing.