'Homelessness is a crisis:' Flags in Taylor Park highlight homelessness in Franklin County

Read the article on SAMessenger.com.

Here is an excerpt:

To draw attention to people experiencing homelessness, 350 flags are staked in the cold ground of Taylor Park. That’s one flag for every person in Franklin County — including 76 children — who was without a home in 2022.

“After setting them in the ground, I paused for a moment getting back into my warm car. I shut my eyes and imagined that each of those people were here with us in this park,” said Jess Graff, director of Franklin/Grand Isle Community Action. “I know many of their names and faces, heard their stories, felt their fear and sadness.”

Thursday was Homelessness Awareness Day in Vermont, and the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity — along with its programs Franklin/Grand Isle Community Action, Samaritan House and Voices Against Violence — brought attention to the issue Jan. 19 in St. Albans.