Providers concerned for Vermonters living outside during flooding
Jul 10, 2023 | 1:24 pm ET
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John Rowe, of Woodstock, talks with VTrans Transportation Operations Technician Kevin McPhee Sr., who was monitoring the flooding across a closed section of Vermont Route 4 in Woodstock, Vermont on July 10, 2023. Photo by Sarah Priestap/VTDigger
With flood waters rising, one group is particularly vulnerable: those who have no home.
In Montpelier, Ken Russell, the executive director of Another Way, a local service provider that serves people experiencing homelessness, said a staff member was out looking for people who were living outside to warn them to get to higher ground.
Rick DeAngelis, the co-executive director of Good Samaritan Haven, a shelter operator, confirmed the same.
“Everybody’s just coordinating on the fly right now,” Russell said. “But the immediate thing is to contact people who are outside and spread the word.”
As to where people might go, the message was less clear. Russell said local leaders were still discussing options, including opening Montpelier’s Recreation Center on Barre Street or the municipal auditorium in Barre.
“You know, it’s 10:15 on a Monday morning and folks are just kind of wrapping their heads around it,” Russell said.
Both Russell and DeAngelis said people should try Another Way (at 125 Barre Street in Montpelier) or Good Sam’s Welcome Center (at 1571 US Route 302 in Berlin).
Any plan for a larger facility was still to be determined. Montpelier’s fire chief Robert Gowans did not immediately return a call. Neither did its mayor, Jack McCullough.
Montpelier, VT
