The Family Support Program has been busy this summer:
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In May, AHW was finally able to offer Al a unit in Middlebury. Al accepted and with the help of his caseworker at JGHS, AHW, and other community organizations Al is happily housed in his own apartment--no more sharing a kitchen and living room! Even better, Al still gets to enjoy sitting on his porch and sharing a friendly wave with passersby!
Every three years, a consortium of health and human services providers in Addison County conducts a Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA), surveying the community broadly about their top concerns and priorities regarding the overall health and wellness of our community. The last CHNA conducted in 2021 found that housing topped the list of key needs to support better health. The 2024 CHNA confirmed that safe, decent, affordable housing with services is a key component of a healthy population and a health economy. Housing is now recognized as a key "social determinant of health" and some medical professionals go so far as to liken safe, decent, affordable housing to a vaccine because of all the preventative benefits a healthy affordable home can provide, from cleaner air, to less stress, to more money for healthy food, education, prescriptions, and regular PCP visits--all things which can lead to better health and fewer illnesses.
When property manager Alice checked in on them a week after they moved in to see how things were going, they replied:
"I'm going to put in some annual flowers to have color, zinnias, cosmos and marigolds. We are going to have our deck with perennials in pretty pots, I love doing container gardens. We are so happy to be here, thank you all at Addison Housing Works, we are blessed, healthy safe environment for us."
On July 2, we were lucky enough to receive a visit from the Senator himself, who toured our net-zero MHC in Waltham, McKnight Lane, and spoke to residents at Armory Lane Senior Housing (pictured above). Senator Sanders was instrumental in funding that development in 2010 through the HUD 202 Senior Housing program. We are so grateful for his dedication to permanently affordable housing in Addison County!
For our next 35th Anniversary featurette, we're highlighting one of AHW's longtime residents of Lindale Manufactured Housing Community in Middlebury, Elaine Lathrop. Elaine began working for Middlebury College in 1980, first as a secretary to the Dean of Faculty Development and then working her way up to Office Manager at the Bread Loaf School of English, where she served from 1994 until her recent retirement in 2022. One of Elaine's favorite pastimes is quilting. She writes, "I actually started quilting because of my mom. In the fall of 1994, she went to a quilting club meeting and came home very enthusiastic. She said I had to come with her the next month which I did and was hooked. As a new quilter, I took as many classes as I could and have even taught a few classes at Quilter's Corner of Middlebury Sew and Vac. I belong to two quilting groups: Red Clover Quilters and Milk and Honey Quilter's Guild. I thank God for showing me this path of creativity as it allows me to be of service to humanity." Read Elaine's housing story below! Your browser does not support viewing this document. Click here to download the document.
The park roads received minor damage; last summer, AHW partnered with the Lewis Creek Association and Addison County Regional Planning Commission to conduct flood hazard mitigation work in Hollow Brook that hopefully prevented the damage from being much worse. Thankfully, AHW has been able to repair much of the damage, and we've been able to deploy our Family Support Program staff to help residents apply for relief funds through CVOEO, the Red Cross, and the Manufactured Housing Improvement and Repair program. Residents are back in their homes for the time being, but there remains much work to do to make sure the park is safe and flood resilient against future events. Volunteers from UVM are helping AHW assess the feasibility of long-term infrastructure repairs and improvements that would be necessary to protect the park from permanent lot closures and displacement.
Meanwhile, in positive news, we received a $2,500,000 Congressionally Directed Spending award from Senator Sanders to upgrade the septic infrastructure at all our Starksboro parks including Lazy Brook, Hillside, and Brookside. This award recognizes the critical importance of preserving our state's Manufactured Housing Communities as vital affordable housing resources and making sure they have equal access to safe and sanitary wastewater treatment systems. We at AHW will continue to work tirelessly to engineer solutions that keep our MHCs safe for current residents and permanently affordable for future generations. AHW's July Board Meeting will be held Thursday, July 25, at the National Bank of Middlebury at 30 Main St in Middlebury or via Zoom. Please RSVP below to receive the Zoom link and meeting packet.
Please join us for our Annual Meeting on Thursday, May 23, 2024 from 4-6pm at the Strong House Inn in Vergennes. For the agenda, registration, and additional information, please visit https://www.addisonhousingworks.org/annual-meeting.html
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AuthorAddison Housing Works staff members share news and information about upcoming events. Archives
July 2024
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