Two Women Who’ve Battled Addiction Help Others Stay Clean

04:24

March 09, 2016

The Turning Point Center of Rutland is a nonprofit that provides services and a safe haven for those in recovery. Sherri Bergeron volunteers here three days a week; her own addiction began with prescription narcotics. (Nina Keck/VPR)

According to the National Institutes of Health, more than 2 million people in the United States struggle with addiction to prescription opioid painkillers. Another 1 million are addicted to heroin.

Rutland, Vermont, a city of nearly 17,000 people, has been hit hard by addiction. But local residents are fighting back. Hundreds have come together to expand treatment options, reduce drug-related crime and reclaim troubled neighborhoods.

Nina Keck from Here & Now contributor Vermont Public Radio has the story of two Rutland women who mirror the city’s struggles and triumphs.

Read more via Vermont Public Radio

This story is part of State of Recovery, VPR's week-long look at the progress that’s been made in fighting opiate addiction in Vermont and the problems that remain. Read more here.

Reporter

Nina Keck, reporter at Vermont Public Radio.

This segment aired on March 9, 2016.