Gregory Lesch is executive director of the Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce.
As The Commons noted in its Jan. 10 front-page story by Joyce Marcel ["Vermonters ask: Where have all the workers gone?"], southern Vermont faces a serious labor shortage and a rapidly aging population that is compounded by a tight housing market.
State-supported transitional housing for incoming refugees addresses these issues head-on. Welcoming these new Vermonters is not just a humanitarian effort, it's also a strategic economic measure.
I would like to take the opportunity to express my sincere thanks to members of Brattleboro's Representative Town Meeting for the support expressed in the thumbs-up vote you delivered for the Community Marketing Initiative on March 19. Your approval is an investment in the future economic development of the...