For Francis and Jerome, giving help comes naturally. While they each serve their local communities in different ways, last winter they both participated in advocacy training and testified at the State House in Montpelier as experts who have experienced homelessness and food insecurity. “It’s easier for me to help others,” says Francis. “I try letting others know who are in need and direct them to where and what is available in our community.”

Similarly for Jerome, advocacy has allowed him to shine a light away from himself and onto the thousands of people in Vermont, like him, who don’t have the basic resources they need to survive. He’s more comfortable sharing his lived experience when it’s for the benefit of others.

Thanks to collaboration with community members, partner organizations, and donors like you, Vermont Foodbank is working to change policies that have allowed food insecurity to persist. Francis and Jerome entered the State House back in February to share their expertise about hunger and its root causes with lawmakers and to advocate for food security. Their testimony provided critical education for elected officials making decisions about policies with far-reaching impacts.

Keeping themselves nourished and sheltered is often an exhausting, demoralizing, and full-time struggle for Francis and Jerome. Simultaneously, they navigate the daily challenges of older age and disability. Francis shares that being “homeless and in need” is a mental strain as much as a physical one. “You feel like you’re fading away. And depression sets in. And you’re concerned about, you know, your health, your well-being, especially if you’re an older individual.”

In testimony, Francis shared about being unhoused and accessing housing, food, and health resources that he wishes were more available to people in similar situations:

“To keep it simple, I’m just really hopeful for more knowledge for those in need who I run into—who I am advocating for—to reach out to places such as Capstone and other food banks; and for medical and health [centers] to have their doors open for people who are in need instead of being homeless and out in the cold, as they are still doing out there. And I would like to say that the help that I’ve had, I couldn’t be here today without.”

Jerome focused his testimony on his limited access to cooking and food storage options as a motel resident, and on how his health circumstances have further restricted what food he’s able to prepare:

“One thing that seemed to be of help was the [COVID-19] meals program that allowed me to purchase hot, restaurant prepared food at various dining establishments. The time that I saved was phenomenal, and my diet was a bit more diverse….It’s less stressful for me physically, and that means fewer x-rays, medications, and hospital visits in general.”

Neighbors like Jerome and Francis are helping end hunger in Vermont by sharing their stories and expertise both here and in places like the legislature, where decisions about public policy for food security and housing are made. It’s your support that helps ensure neighbors are able to engage and advocate for themselves and their communities. Perhaps Francis states it best in saying: “It’s just changed my life being part of this system of us trying to help those in need. Nobody should be going hungry.”

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