Grieving mother creates program to support women recovering from drug addiction.

Dawn describes her daughter as someone who loved animals, enjoyed riding horses and who wanted to help others.

Shortly before her death, Jenna had told Dawn, ‘‘Mom, when I am ready to leave this sober home, you and I are going to go around and raise funds to help people that aren’t as fortunate as I was.”

Those words reveal a young woman who had heart for others and who had a purpose. Her mom wants other parents to understand that drug addiction can impact anyone from all walks of life.

“We did everything that we were supposed to do as a family,” said Dawn. “We did family vacations, we did the Sunday dinners. But it doesn’t matter who you are, because that drug basically owns you.”

Jenna’s story will ring as all too familiar to others with a family member whose addiction began with an injury and a prescription for painkillers.

In 2012, after a visit to the emergency room, a doctor prescribed Jenna a 30-day supply of OxyContin, an extended-release, opioid-class prescription drug. That day changed the course of her life. She became addicted to the powerful drug and eventually turned to other opioids like heroin and fentanyl. In the turbulent six years that followed, Jenna tried to kick her addiction by entering 22 rehab facilities and various treatment programs. She tragically overdosed on fentanyl in 2019 at 26 years old.

Shortly after Jenna’s death, Dawn and her husband, Greg, purchased an old church in their hometown of Johnson, Vermont. The couple transformed the building into a haven for women in recovery and named the program Jenna’s Promise.

Jenna’s Promise gives women space and time to heal and to build healthier habits before returning to the pressures of their home life. The program provides housing, therapy, employment resources and a strong supportive community. Statistics show that this combined treatment approach leads to better results for women in addiction recovery.

Dawn felt that she was the right person to create the program because her own experience with Jenna revealed gaps in the system. She watched as Jenna would attempt to reintegrate into life after rehab and how she would fall back into old patterns when she couldn’t find work or when she started spending time with old friends who also used drugs.

“She wouldn’t have purpose, and she didn’t have any work,” Dawn recalled. “I would try to tell her, ‘You are amazing, you can do anything.’ She would say, ‘People know me in this town, Mom. They’re never going hire me.”’

Dawn is now determined that her program fills in the gaps and offer women a safety net and genuine support.

Jenna’s Promise program has three phases that last anywhere from six months to a year. In the first phase, program facilitators supervise the women closely and hold them accountable for how they spend their time. In the second and third phases, levels of independence and autonomy increase as participants prepare to re-enter life outside of the center.

Dawn and her team built the program around six pillars – clinical programming, residential supports, behavioral programming, health and wellness, and workforce development – designed as wrap-around support to facilitate each person’s chance at a successful recovery.

In addition, Jenna’s Promise now includes five buildings that house businesses like a general goods store, a coffee roasting company and a café in town. These businesses employ participants and graduates of the program and give them a chance to rebuild skills they need to re-enter the workforce.

“Having that job has been so huge for my self-esteem and my confidence,” said Britain Davignon, who participated in the program for nearly a year. “I feel like this is who I am supposed to be. I have not missed a day of work since I’ve been here. And that was not something that I was doing when I was in active user.”

Creating Jenna’s Promise has been cathartic in Dawn’s own grieving process. It offers her great comfort to know that she is fulfilling Jenna’s dream of helping others.

“It forced me to get up and help others, so other families didn’t have to struggle with what we were suffering with,” she said.

The Foundation for a Better Life and PassItOn.com believe that Dawn Tatro is a hero. Her action is a great example of the value of hope. According to estimates, more than 80,000 people in the United States have died from an opioid overdose in 2024 alone. Dawn’s recovery program, Jenna’s Promise, strives to destigmatize addiction and recovery for women in Vermont. The program helps women regain their sense of self-worth and hope so they can recover and live full lives.