I look forward to the second installment of Allison Teague's series on Vermont's opioid problem. She raised some troubling points that many of us who work in social services have been aware of for the past 15 years or so.
Agencies, landlords, and other service providers are indeed familiar with the scenario of out-of-state drug dealers coming to Vermont and entering into relationships with young women who often have low self-esteem, moving in with them, often in subsidized housing, and then dealing drugs.
Drug dealers also send women and children to Vermont, and they are homeless upon arrival, very compliant and seemingly motivated, and thus high-priority placements for housing agencies. Some time after they are placed in housing, up comes their husband, uncle, cousin, or other male relative, who moves in, often illegally, and begins selling drugs.
These drug dealers are by and large bereft of conscience, often quite violent, and leave a trail of despair, addiction, and broken lives in their wake. Agencies like the one I work for very often see the girlfriend become homeless with her children due to the criminal activity in her apartment.
The recent revelations of genocide and the all-too-familiar accompanying atrocities in North Korea are obviously extremely disturbing, though not totally shocking given what we know about the leadership of that unfortunate state. If history is an indicator, it is unlikely that the United States or other Western powers will...
I have been following the Bellows Falls warming shelter controversy with interest. There are no easy answers to the problems of homelessness, and I believe both those in favor and in opposition to the warming shelter make valid points. No one should sleep out in the cold, and yes,