Video: Advocating for an Increase in Reach Up Cash Assistance to Low-Income Vermont Families

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.

Watch the five-minute video on YouTube.

News

VLA Files Class Action Lawsuit to Stop Changes to GA Emergency Housing Program

On June 28, 2021, Vermont Legal Aid, Inc. filed a class action lawsuit in the Vermont Superior Court, Washington Unit, Civil Division, to stop the Agency of Human Services from terminating General Assistance Emergency Housing Program benefits for hundreds of Vermonters with disabilities. General Assistance (GA) has provided shelter in motels and hotels across Vermont for low-income residents experiencing homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read about the lawsuit.

Warrant Clinic for Chittenden County

Do you think you may have an arrest warrant for a Chittenden County court case?

The Chittenden County Public Defender’s Office will partner with the Chittenden County State’s Attorney’s Office and Vermont Legal Aid to host a warrant clinic from now until June 25, 2021, to help Vermonters clear up arrest warrants and re-connect them with criminal court dates. Learn more about the clinic.

Statement on April 21 about Conviction for Murder of George Floyd

Yesterday’s verdict did not bring justice for all the Black and Brown lives that have been lost due to police violence and systemic racism. However, it is cause for hope that, thanks to the courage of the Floyd family, the fortitude of the jurors, the skill and dedication of the team of attorneys assembled by Attorney General Ellison, and the persistence of all those who have raised their voices in protest in the streets, we may have taken a first step toward greater accountability in our policing practices, and that we can through continued efforts, in the words of Amanda Gorman, “rebuild, reconcile and recover.” With this hope in mind, we at Vermont Legal Aid re-dedicate ourselves today to calling out racism when we see it — in our country, in our state, and in our own organization— and to dismantling white supremacy in Vermont.

MORE NEWS

In the Spotlight

Translate this page