Happy First Week of School to those who celebrate! I hope it’s been a smooth transition back for kids, teachers, and families alike. I’m writing with some updates and resources on flooding, food access, voting, mosquitoes, gun safety, and a couple nice articles on recently passed legislation. Read on for details!
Flood Recovery Resources
Recently, President Biden approved Vermont’s request for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for flooding that occurred on July 9-11 in seven counties, including Addison and Chittenden. Unlike last summer, Addison County does qualify for individual assistance, which means that individual Vermonters and families can apply to receive financial assistance for flood recovery. If you were flooded and have recovery expenses, you should register with FEMA at www.DisasterAssistance.gov, even if you’ve already reported your damages with 2-1-1. Municipalities in these counties also qualify for FEMA public assistance for the early July flooding. In addition, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has approved assistance for farm and forest economy businesses. Farmers should visit the Agency of Agriculture or USDA Flood Recovery websites for more information.
Meanwhile, Vermont has restarted the Business Emergency Gap Assistance Program (BEGAP) for businesses that have flood recovery expenses. Farm businesses are eligible and can find specific information on the Agency of Agriculture website. Landlords are also eligible. For more answers go questions, check out this helpful FAQ page or watch this recent webinar about the program. The United Way of Addison County revived the Addison County Responds: Flood Relief small grant program and the Huntington Neighbor Helping Neighbor program is providing assistance to folks there. You can find more flood recovery resources on my Flood Recovery Resources webpage.
End of Summer Updates
There’s still time to apply for Summer Food Benefits for Vermont kids. The deadline for the Vermont Summer EBT Program is next Wednesday, September 4. If your family qualifies, you could receive $120 per eligible child to spend on healthy foods at local grocery stores and farmers markets. If you’re struggling to afford food for your kids, please apply!
As you probably know, there’s a big election in November! Make a plan to vote and make your voice heard! Ballots in Vermont will be mailed to all active voters on September 20th, so in order to get your ballot in your mailbox, please make sure you’re registered at the correct address. You can check your address on your personal My Voter Page to be sure. If you’re not yet registered to vote, it’s never too late to register and vote in Vermont (you can even register to vote on Election Day), but register to vote now if you want your ballot mailed. For more information about voting visit the Secretary of State’s website or talk with your local town clerk.
The disease Eastern equine encephalitis has been detected in Vermont. This potentially deadly disease is transmitted through mosquitoes so the Vermont Department of Health is recommending that Vermonters take precautions against mosquito bites and avoid being outside during evening hours when mosquito bites are most common. While no towns in the Addison District are currently listed as high risk, several are listed as moderate (Vergennes & Whiting) or low (Cornwall) risk, and risk levels can change. Be safe and avoid bug bites!
Finally, this first week of school is the first annual SMART Week, reminding adults that “one of the smartest things adults can do to keep kids, classrooms, and communities safe from gun violence is raise awareness about secure gun storage. SMART Week is all about educating communities on the simple steps that everyone — gun owners and non-gun owners alike — can take right now to prevent gun violence.” Check out the BE SMART website for more information and be safe with firearms.
Recent Legislation Updates
This past session, we passed Act 173 (H.644), which allows adults who were in state foster care as children to request access to their foster care records in order to better understand their own personal story. We worked on this bill in the Senate Government Operations Committee, which i chair, and it was a complicated and emotional bill, and I was proud of our work with the Child, Youth & Family Advocate and the Department of Children & Families to come to a bill everyone could support. Read or listen to this great story about Act 173 on Vermont Public, and if you or someone you know was in foster care in Vermont, you can learn how to request foster care records here.
Over the past two years, we made a lot of permanent and temporary changes to Vermont’s landmark 1970 land use law, Act 250, in order to protect Vermont’s natural landscape while also promoting housing development. Read a bit about those changes in this VTDigger article and check out the Natural Resources Board outline of Interim Act 250 Housing Exemptions and this cool interactive map of Vermont where you can see how these changes to Act 250 impact your community.
Finally, in 2023 we passed Act 76, Vermont’s landmark childcare law, which I sponsored and shepherded from start to finish. Over the past year, we have begun to see the positive impact of the law on Vermont’s early childhood education system, with new programs opening, existing programs expanding, more families getting access to care, and more teachers getting access to training and education. Read this wonderful article in the Addison Independent about Act 76 and its impact in Addison County, including a special visit to the fabulous Mary Johnson Children’s Center.
Thank you for reading! Take care and enjoy the transition from summer to fall in Vermont.
Photo note: Looking over beautiful Lake Sunrise in Orwell, home to the future home to the awesome Camp Outright for LGBTQ+ youth.
Ruth for Vermont 