About Us

• Reduce underage and high-risk drinking rates 

• Reduce youth prescription drug misuse rates 

• Reduce tobacco use rates 

• Reduce youth cannabis use rates 

• Increase opportunities for youth participation and leadership in community prevention strategies and activities

These Four Principles Support Us in Executing Our Mission 

• Education and Public Awareness: We will inform our community of the dangers associated with the use or misuse of alcohol and other drugs and promote the effectiveness of prevention strategies.

• Collaboration: Every member of our community can be an effective part of prevention efforts. We will provide opportunities for individuals and organizations to work together to achieve mutual outcomes. 

• Advocacy: We will be a voice for prevention in Burlington. We will educate our communities and policymakers to make informed decisions to improve local and state practices, policies, and laws. 

• Service and Support: We will implement evidence-based programs in collaboration with our partners that support community-wide improvements to health and wellness in Burlington. 

The Burlington Partnership for a Healthy Community (BPHC) evolved from the strong foundation built by the Chittenden County Substance Abuse Coalition (CCSAC) that began in 1999. In 2005, the Vermont Department of Health approached CCSAC to develop a coalition to impact substance misuse prevention specific to the needs of the city of Burlington. In the fall of 2006, the decision was made by the CCSAC Board to focus their efforts on Burlington and the county coalition reformed as BPHC.

BPHC maintained many of the same board and coalition members as we developed a new mission and vision and secured funding. The group made the decision that our work together would focus on strategies that change factors in the community environment that affect substance use rates. Environmental factors refer to the conditions in which each individual lives - their household, their neighborhood or town, and the larger community. These may include aspects of the social environment, including the norms and behaviors of families, friends, and others in the community. In 2007, BPHC hired our first staff person. They helped identify and engage people and organizations to join the coalition’s mission. That same year, BPHC was awarded our first grant funding from the Vermont Department of Health to build capacity and complete a community needs assessment for Burlington. The information in the assessment helped us develop our first strategic plan that focused on increasing community awareness of substance use issues and looking at local policies and practices that were contributing to high rates of misuse.

Over the years BPHC has evaluated and revised our community interventions and grown in staff, partners, and capacity to expand our reach and impact. In the last decade we began programs that support families in Burlington, including ParentIN for parents of Burlington middle and high schoolers, and the One Voice Youth Empowerment Program where we partner with Burlington School District to provide afterschool youth groups at the middle and high schools to empower youth to be leaders for health in our community. We are committed to continuing to assess the community needs and evaluate our work so that we can support the best outcomes for all of Burlington.