Confronting challenges together
A scenic view along High Pastures Road in Pomfret, Vermont. (Gareth Henderson Photo)
As the country heads toward the fall season, the economic challenges facing U.S. communities are steep.
In New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston, "at least half of people say they have experienced the loss of a job or a reduction in wages or work hours in their household since the start of the coronavirus outbreak," National Public Radio reported from its recent poll. In each of America's four largest cities, a wide range of financial issues appear to be deepening for families, just as schools are restarting and health concerns persist amid the pandemic.
These converging factors loom in rural states as well, as communities try to make the most of grant funding and other solutions. Vermont has the lowest COVID-19 infection rates in the U.S., but financial assistance is still a major need. More than 40,000 people remain unemployed, and 1 in 4 Vermonters are food insecure, Vermont Business Magazine reported.
That said, some local efforts to help those in need are ongoing. The Woodstock Area Relief Fund is continuing to provide assistance to those financially struggling due to the pandemic. Also, on Wednesday, the Vermont Community Foundation announced five COVID-19 recovery initiatives, according to Vermont Business Magazine. They focus grant funding for five areas: rural entrepreneurship, food system resilience, rural internet connectivity, career learning and skill-building, and creating anti-racist communities. Grants totaling $238,000 went to organizations working on those issues, and the community foundation expects more grantmaking in 2020, the VBM report stated.
Such community-based efforts will be critically important, especially while Congressional efforts to create a second stimulus package remain stalled. With no further federal aid on the way, it's up to Vermonters to pull together and use teamwork to boost state and local initiatives. The way forward is truly to help each other, using that community strength for which Vermont is known, because we know what that strength can do. That unity has seen us through challenges before, and it is poised to face this one and lead us to progress.
— Gareth Henderson
