Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger says Vermont needs to commit to keeping those being treated for opiate addiction in treatment for as long as they need to fully recover.

The mayor made the comments Thursday at the Turning Point Center’s 10th annual Circle of Stars benefit, where he received an award for his work addressing the opioid crisis.

The mayor says that there is a large amount of money flowing into the state through federal grants. He adds that money should go to first responders, law enforcement, health care providers and treatment facilities to ensure they can properly manage affected Vermonters and continue to get them the help they need.

During his speech, Mayor Weinberger spoke about moving into the next stages of curbing the opioid crisis in Vermont. He says the downward trend of opiate-related deaths in Vermont is a good sign that treatments are working. He says he wants to emphasize keeping patients in treatment for the time that's needed to fully heal from opioid dependency.

"I am convinced that to beat this epidemic, to bring these tragic avoidable deaths to an end, we must do better at treatment retention, retaining patients in treatment to foster sustained long-term recovery," Weinberger said.

Many attendees at the event for the recovery center agreed that the progress made so far is cause for celebration, but say there's still more that needs to be done to fix the opioid crisis.

"The approach has also allowed us to catch the clients that have fallen through the cracks, or struggled with the traditional system," said Grace Keller from the Howard Center.