VSEA Lamoille Chapter President’s Letter Welcomes Temporary Relocation Of Some Acute State Hospital Beds To Morrisville

Workers would be welcome

Recently, I attended the public meeting in Morrisville to hear about the proposal to utilize space at Lamoille Community Connections, to provide temporary accommodation’s for some fellow Vermonter’s who receive treatment from our state hospital system. I was pleased to see how many people came out to learn about this proposal and to share their views, including Speaker Shap Smith.

Tropical Storm Irene created a crisis for so many in our state. In addition to the impact that it had on our fellow Vermonter’s at the state hospital, it has also had a huge impact on the mental well being of so many other people in our state that previously were not suffering with mental health issues. It was an important reminder that mental illness knows no boundaries. It crosses race, socio-economics, gender and age. It can strike anyone of us at any time, mild to severely. It is an illness like any other.

My family had the experience of spending many weekends in Stockbridge, helping a friend to clean up from the destruction … the likes of which I have never seen in my life. While a lot of clean up has happened, the impact of that storm on the mental well-being of so many Vermonters’ will live on for some time to come. We have an opportunity to help some of our most vulnerable population whose lives were severely impacted by the storm. I liked that Speaker Smith assured the community that the accommodation would only be temporary and that the state was open to writing this into the legislation. I also liked that there would be safety measures in place to protect everyone including the patients. While I do not live in Morrisville, I work here and have a young son who attends child care in the neighborhood. I have confidence in the professionalism and skills of the hospital employees and applaud them for their dedication and advocacy on behalf of their patients. I support and would welcome them in Lamoille County.

Michelle Salvador, VSEA Lamoille Chapter President