Many communities in our region are home to a growing number of people who face multiple challenges at once: mental illness, substance use disorder, a criminal past, or homelessness. Police are often the first ones called in to handle incidents that involve a mixture of these problems, but they’re not in a position to offer ongoing support. Two different strategies are offering some level of hope right here in our region.
Eight communities in Vermont are currently trying it out an approach called situation tables, in which specific community members are identified by a multidisciplinary panel to treat the compounding issues that lead to disruptive behaviors. Vermont Public reporter Liam Elder-Connors discussed his reporting on the situation table in Springfield. Retired Massachusetts police chief Scott Allen now works for Cordata, the company that trains law enforcement and social services organizations on the situation table model, and he shared insight into that approach.
Another program known as contingency management pays people in small weekly amounts when they refrain from doing drugs. Burlington has been piloting this program over the past year. Jess Kirby with the Burlington-based organization Vermonters for Criminal Justice Reform provided insight on how this program could help those with addiction issues. We also spoke with Tyler Erath, assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Vermont’s Center on Behavior and Health, and a co-author of a key study on contingency management.
Broadcast live on Monday, September 22, 2025, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.
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