Written Testimony Submitted 02-27-2025

A Plea on Behalf of Marginalized and Underrepresented People


**This letter was submitted as written testimony to legislators as written testimony.


Thursday, February 27, 2025

Dear legislators,

I remember learning about the Holocaust in third grade and asking my teacher, “But where were all of the good people?” Even at a young age I questioned how such a large number of people could allow such atrocities to happen. It was at that time that I decided I would never sit silently when I saw unjust actions that would cause mass harm. Of course at eight years old that seems like a million lightyears away. Fast-forward a mere twenty years later and here we are. After recent legislative actions, I find myself needing to, at the very least, plead with the committees that have the most power over marginalized lives.

In a time when the federal government cannot be trusted to protect the lives of all of your constituents, the responsibility largely falls to you. The lives of Black Vermonters, the indigenous community, people of color, unhoused children & adults, veterans, our youth (in general), individuals covered by ADA, the LGBTQ+ community, educators, and undocumented Vermonters need your special attention as we often fear for our safety and long term wellbeing.

When I look at this session’s repertoire… I look to my right and see legislators voting against proposals including, “$8.6 million to the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board to expand affordable housing and shelter capacity, including improvements to manufactured homes; $2.8 million to pilot supportive housing for adults with developmental disabilities; $10 million to stabilize community residential mental health and substance use providers, as well as other community health providers…; $1.8 million to extend winter weather eligibility rules for emergency motel housing from April 1 through June 30, ensuring vulnerable Vermonters have access to shelter; $5.6 million... an appropriation to Vermont Veterans Home in Bennington for nursing outreach for disabled veterans.” I look to my left and see legislators fighting against protections for the undocumented community. I look up and see potential changes to the election process that have no account or intent to add cognizance for marginalized people. I look down and immediate relief is available for the very apparent housing crisis and is in waiting while people (sometimes) survive sub-zero temperatures in cars, on the streets, and perish in tents. And I guess actually cannot technically claim there is opposition to anything directly relating to the Black community because you’re not discussing us at all - 

This is not the Vermont that was the first to abolish slavery or a leader in the fight for same-sex marriage. This is a new beast.

Nearly two years ago I wrote My Last Plea as a Black Vermonter begging for much the same thing I am asking for today: equitable attention to sensitive groups. There are equity tools that can evaluate the impacts of your actions before final decisions are made. For example:

Equity Impact Assessment Tool (https://racialequity.vermont.gov/equity-toolkit) developed by Vermont’s Office of Racial Equity - As stated on the Office of Racial Equity website, “Equity and inequity impacts everyone—no exceptions. For this reason, each of us has a responsibility to learn the history and ramifications of injustice and bias.” 

and

A Racial Equity Framework for Assessing Health Policy created by The Commonwealth Fund - Its goal is to establish a conceptually nuanced, empirically informed, and practically useful framework for analyzing the racial equity implications of health policies. https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2022/jan/racial-equity-framework-assessing-health-policy.

I am humbly asking, again, if you will please remind yourself about these populations when you say no to issues that can directly benefit large populations of underrepresented Vermonters.  With each bill I beg you to ask yourself, “How will this impact the lives of underrepresented people?” I am here for no other reason than to plead with you about your cognizance of my own life and hundreds of thousands of others. 

As always, I greatly appreciate your time. 

Jacqueline Posley

Lobbyist and Writer

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