Freedom & Unity: Stick with the America we fought for

“If you want to honor veterans, here’s my ask: Don’t just thank us for our service. Serve. Reach out to a neighbor who’s struggling. Learn their name. Show up. Stay.”

“Isn’t that the American dream?” a newly unhoused neighbor asked me as we sat on a bench while she ate her free sandwich from a community lunch program. “Work hard, follow the rules… it’s as American as apple pie, right? I’m 60 years old. I worked all m … (read more)

Healing is not a linear process, and it is not a destination. Healing is a journey. You heal a little at a time. You probably won’t even notice all the ripples you are creating by unlearning toxic habits and behaviors. We face the legacy of our trauma and … (read more)

No matter who you are, what your annual income is, or what political party you belong to, if you get stuck in the mud, you can count on a neighbor to pull you out or to give you a ride.

Like too many disenfranchised Americans, Jerome Hazelwood is an unhoused neighbor of our community. BIPOC neighbors are five times more likely to experience homelessness in Vermont than their white neighbors. Since this interview, he was “exited” from Ver … (read more)

On a Saturday morning, a group of people comes together at Gather, our community living room in Middlebury. We never know who will show up. We just open the door and welcome everyone — no matter where they come from, what condition they are in, what they’ … (read more)

Vermonters love to talk about supporting local businesses. We love to talk about how we are leaders in human services. Reality for the people providers serve differs greatly from what we allow ourselves to see

His wife scurried to collect their things as her half-asleep, disheveled partner hollered at the authorities who had come to “move them along” from their encampment under a bridge.