Southern Vermont Working Communities Project Celebrates Year of Progress, Partnerships, and Learning

Brattleboro, VT – After years of planning and a full year of activity, the Southern Vermont Working Communities Challenge team has launched a website to celebrate its successes, share resources, and raise awareness about the initiative’s work.

In late 2020, the BDCC helped form a team of regional partners to participate in the three-year Vermont Working Communities Challenge, an initiative of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. By January of 2021, eight Vermont communities had been selected to champion systems change to transform their communities and economies, led by BDCC staffer Alex Beck, as initiative director.

As workforce participation rates among Vermonters continue to drop, with fewer students in schools and fewer volunteers supporting community and cultural institutions, it is clear that welcoming New Vermonters, particularly those with immigrant background, should be a priority for the region. The Southern Vermont team is leading a systemic approach to lowering existing barriers to relocation and employment as necessary, especially for foreign-born workers and non-citizen residents. The core team is comprised of the Community Asylum-Seekers Project, Ethiopian Community Development Council, Aids Project of Southern Vermont, World Learning and the School for International Training, Southeast Vermont Transit, Windham and Bennington Regional Commissions, Bellows Falls Area Development Corporation, and the Community Equity Collaborative.

Since the official launch of the Southern Vermont team, new systems, processes, and resources have been put in place, to support the success of the region’s newest community members. Employment services’ coordination has helped over 80 adult refugees and asylum-seekers find work or further their education. Innovative transportation options and resources have been and continue to be explored by Southeast Vermont Transit to get people without driver’s licenses to and from work. Social and human services providers and English-language learning experts meet monthly to collaborate, coordinate, and design new resources to better serve immigrant community members. Many of the region’s employers are attending webinars, workshops, and training sessions on better supporting New Vermonters and investing in best practices around diversity, equity, and inclusion into the workplace. This past December, nearly 100 community members, from diverse immigrant backgrounds, attended a Welcoming Community Winter Celebration, hosted by the initiative, for an evening of food, music, and connection. All of the vendors for the event were BIPOC or immigrant owned.

In 2023, the initiative will continue providing equity and inclusion workshops for community leaders and volunteers involved in supporting New Vermonters, bolster the legal aid network locally, and conduct a community-based research and interview project in partnership with the Vermont Folklife Center.

With the hope of increasing the regions’ population by 1,000 individuals in ten years, having served over 120 New Vermonters this past year, the initiative is well on its way to supporting our region in meeting that goal.

Community members, organizations, and employers who would like to contribute to this initiative or employ New Vermonters are encouraged to visit www.welcomingcommunitiesvt.com to learn more, watch past webinars and meetings, and contact organizers. The website also includes the schedules for English language learning classes in Windham and Bennington County, offered by Vermont Adult Learning, World Learning, and The Tutorial Center.

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The Working Communities Challenge advances local collaborative efforts that build strong, healthy economies and communities in Vermont’s rural towns, regions, and smaller cities.

Launched in 2019, the initiative supports diverse, local teams as they tackle complex challenges facing their communities. With a focus on economic opportunity for communities and residents with low incomes, this unique three-year grant competition is supported by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, the State of Vermont, national and local philanthropy, and private sector employers. Visit https://www.bostonfed.org/workingplaces/communities-challenge/vermont.aspx for more information

The Southern Vermont Working Communities Team has a mission to make the Windham County region more welcoming, equitable, and inclusive for BIPOC community members, immigrants, first- and second-generation Americans, asylum-seekers, and foreign-born workers. To do this, they are helping create a robust, inclusive, scalable, and sustainable system of support that addresses barriers such as employment, housing, legal services, and transportation. More information can be found at www.welcomingcommunitiesvt.com.