Emergency Resources from Vermont’s Department of Mental Health Website (Click here to visit this source directly):

How to Get Help

In Vermont, we use the term Crisis Services Continuum to describe the community-based supports available to help during a mental health crisis. These services include crisis lines, mobile crisis response, peer support, and short-term stabilization programs. Together, they provide options to meet people where they are and connect them with the right level of help when it’s needed most.

How to Access Crisis Services in Vermont 

• Chat, call, or text 988 for immediate support. 

• Contact your local community mental health agency (contact list below) for details on mobile crisis teams, mental health urgent care programs, peer programs, and stabilization options. 

• If you’re not sure where to start, 988 can connect you with the right community resource. 

Types of Community Crisis Services 

Crisis Phone and Text Lines 

• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline – Available 24/7 for anyone in emotional distress or thinking about suicide. Calls are answered locally whenever possible. 

• Specialized hotlines – Some community providers also have their own crisis lines for children, youth, or adults. 

Mobile Crisis Response 

• Teams of mental health professionals and peers who can meet someone in their home, school, or community setting. 

• Designed to de-escalate the crisis, provide short-term support, and connect people with ongoing care if needed. 

Mental Health Urgent Care Centers

• Gives people “a safe place to go” when they are in crisis but do not need the emergency department.

• These programs are also called Alternatives to the Emergency Department (ED) and follow SAMHSA’s best practice model of Someone to Talk To, Someone to Respond, and A Safe Place for Help.

• Staffed by trained clinicians and peer support specialists.

• The setting is designed to feel more like a “living room” than a hospital: safe, welcoming, and supportive.

Vermont Mental Health Urgent Care Centers:

• Mental Health Urgent Care (Howard Center)

  • Hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

  • Location: 1 South Prospect Street, Burlington, VT 05401

  • Phone: 802-488-MHUC (6482)

  • Access: No appointment needed; walk-ins welcome. Free parking and public transit access.

• Access Hub (Washington County Mental Health Services)

  • Hours: 24/7 crisis response

  • Location: 34 Barre Street (Downing Street entrance), Montpelier, VT

  • Phone: 802-229-0591

  • Access: Adults 18 and older; peer counseling, assessment, brief treatment, referrals.

• Interlude: Mental Health Crisis Alternative (CSAC)

  • Hours: Monday to Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (walk-ins 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.)

  • Location: Marble Works Complex, 99 Maple Street #16, Middlebury, VT 05753

  • Phone: 802-458-8219

  • Access: Voluntary, no referral needed; home-like, trauma-sensitive crisis alternative.

• Front Porch: Mental Health Urgent Care (NKHS)

  • Hours: Open 24/7

  • Location: 235 Lakemont Road, Newport City, VT

  • Phone: 802-624-4016

  • Access: Walk-ins accepted; immediate mental health care for adults and families in crisis.

Peer Support in Crisis 

• Peer specialists draw on their own lived experience with mental health challenges to support people going through a crisis. 

• Peer supports may work alongside mobile crisis teams or provide follow-up after a hotline or stabilization stay. 

Crisis Stabilization Programs 

• Short-term, community-based settings where someone can go if they need more support than can be provided at home but do not require hospitalization. 

• Offers a safe environment, support from staff, and help planning next steps for recovery. 

Vermont Community Mental Health Agencies:

Clara Martin Center Crisis Line: 1-800-639-6360

Counseling Service of Addison County Crisis Line: 1-802-388-7641

Howard Center Crisis Line: 1-802-488-7777 (First Call for Chittenden County)

Healthcare and Rehabiliation Services Crisis Line: 1-800-622-4235

Lamoille County Mental Health Crisis Line: 1-802-888-5026 

Northwestern Counseling and Support Services Crisis Line: 1-802-524-6554

Northeast Kingdom Human Services Crisis Line: (Derby) 1-802-334-6744 (St. Johnsbury) 1-802-748-3181

Pathways Peer Support Line call or text 1-833-888-2557 

Rutland Mental Health Services Crisis Line: 1-802-775-1000

United Counseling Service Crisis Line: (Manchester) 1-802-362-3950 (Bennington) 1-802-442-5491

Washington County Mental Health Crisis Line: 1-802-229-0591