CNN profiles VT nonprofit lifting women out of addiction

A national news network has profiled a Lamoille County non-profit founded after a local family lost their daughter to drug addiction, the Journal-Opinion reports today. 

Jenna’s Promise is a nonprofit in Johnson founded by Jenna Tatro’s family after she died of an overdose.

CNN: “Since founding the nonprofit, [Dawn] Tatro and her family have built an innovative program that gives women transitioning out of rehab the time and space to heal and build good habits before returning home. Jenna’s Promise provides housing, therapy, workforce development, and a strong community to help women stay sober.”

They purchased five buildings in town and started businesses in those buildings for women in recovery to work at.

Applications open for Summer EBT program

Governor Phil Scott, the Agency of Human Services, and the Agency of Education announced today that Vermont’s Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (SEBT) program online application is now available for families to apply at summerebt.vermont.gov. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s SEBT program helps feed eligible school-aged children during the summer vacation months by providing a $120 per child benefit to purchase groceries.

Vermont has already issued $4.3 million in SEBT benefits to nearly 36,000 school-aged children in over 21,000 households since mid-July. These families were identified as eligible benefit recipients because they already receive Medicaid with a qualifying income, 3SquaresVT, or ReachUp benefits. Households were notified of their eligibility in early July and all benefits were available on their EBT cards by July 31.

Applications will be reviewed and approved on a rolling basis for the SEBT program and must be submitted by Wednesday, September 4. If a child is found eligible, a notice will be mailed to the household and funds will be added to their existing EBT card. Families who do not have an active EBT card will be mailed one with instructions on how to use it. Families should keep the EBT cards for reuse each summer for children who are eligible. The EBT card can be used at grocery stores, farmers’ markets, and online where EBT is accepted.

For additional information, including eligibility criteria and a link to the online application, visit summerebt.vermont.gov.

Bulrush recovery

Vermont and New Hampshire have played key roles in the recovery of the northeastern bulrush, a wetland plant that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed removing from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Plants.

The plant went on the list in 1991 when there were 13 known populations. Today, there are 148 known populations.

The vast majority are in Pennsylvania (59.5%), Vermont (20.9%), and New Hampshire (9.5%).

In Vermont, where the plant has gone from 2 populations in the early 1990s to at least 33 today, the bulrush’s recovery is inextricably linked to the beaver.

FWS: “Now they know that beaver flowages — flooded areas in a stream system caused by beaver dams — provide a continuum of habitat for the plant to persist.

“’When you have a stream with a series of dams and ponds, each at a different stage of succession, bulrush will almost always be somewhere within the flowage,’ [retired state biologist Bob] Popp said.”

The plant will be the 79th species delisted for recovery in the United States — one of 25 in the past 5 years, observes the Center for Biological Diversity.

PHOTO: Mary Ann Furedi/Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program.

UVM secures first SEPA grant to support immigrant girls getting into health care

The Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine at UVM, alongside the College of Nursing and Health Sciences and the College of Education and Social Services, has received its first SEPA (Science Education Partnership Award) grant from the NIH. This $1.3 million award will fund the New American Youth on the Rise (NAYR) program, designed to guide girls from immigrant backgrounds into health science careers.

The NAYR program offers mentorship, academic support, and college prep for middle and high school girls from immigrant and first-generation American backgrounds in Chittenden County, Vermont. The program, which begins in fall, addresses local and national health equity issues by fostering a diverse health sciences workforce that reflects the community it serves.

NAYR’s unique three-pronged approach involves students, their families, and school counselors, providing comprehensive support and exposure to various health careers. The goal is to promote health equity and increase representation in the healthcare workforce.