Vermont Legal Aid is advocating for an increase in Reach Up cash assistance to low-income Vermont families. Reach Up’s statutory purpose is to “improve the wellbeing of children by providing for their immediate basic needs,” but the program fails to achieve its purpose. Cash grants are so low — as attorney Jessica Radbord and her client Sandra Cross demonstrate in this budget exercise — that Vermont kids on the program are constantly at risk of hunger, homelessness and deprivation. Contact your legislator today to let them know that you support investing in Vermont kids by investing in Reach Up.
In posting the statement from the VT APIDA for Black Lives Group, Vermont Legal Aid humbly acknowledges that we are among those who are called out and called upon to act by it. We accept that we have been too quiet and too slow to act and vow to change. We see you; we hear you; you are vital members of our communities, and we will not ignore what has been happening. We denounce the attacks, hate crimes, and murders against the Asian American community. As members of a law firm, we acknowledge with some shame the hesitancy of lawyers and members of the legal community around the country to call the Atlanta killings a hate crime. We vow to call out racism when we see it: in our country, in our state, and in our own organization. We publicly announce our support for H.397, H. 245, H.428, H. 320, H.329, and H.210 and commit ourselves and our organization to dismantling white supremacy in Vermont. Read the letter from the VT APIDA for Black Lives Group.