REGION – Since October, Vermont Law and Graduate School’s (VLGS) Entrepreneurial Legal Lab and Legal Services Vermont have been working in collaboration to assist Vermont business owners affected by the summer 2023 floods. This effort began in September with several clinics hosted by VLGS’ Entrepreneurial Legal Lab and the Environmental Justice Clinic. In October, Legal Services Vermont’s flood disaster legal assistance team joined the efforts. Between the two organizations, they have hosted six clinics to date in areas severely impacted by the floods including Barre, Hardwick, Ludlow, and South Royalton. As a result of high demand and ongoing community needs, they will continue to offer monthly clinics to assist Vermonters.
“We started these clinics as a way to immediately help Vermont business owners who were impacted by the floods,” said Nicole Killoran, director of the Entrepreneurial Legal Laboratory at Vermont Law and Graduate School. “Through our collective efforts, we have been able to help nearly 30 Vermonters who are trying to navigate the legal landscape after the floods. These clinics have become powerful touchpoints for Vermonters working to recover and rebuild, and we’re looking forward to continuing the work we’ve started.”
The first round of clinics focused on Vermonters’ needs during the initial recovery period, including assisting with answering questions regarding FEMA and/or Small Business Association (SBA) applications, requests for reasonable accommodations for late FEMA and SBA applications due to disability, unemployment insurance and disaster unemployment assistance. The next phase of the clinics will focus on long-term relief efforts including FEMA appeals, landlord-tenant assistance, and other ongoing legal challenges of flood recovery.
The next clinic will be held in Barre on Dec. 14. Monthly clinics will then rotate through Ludlow, Waterbury, and Hardwick, then back to Barre to follow the same order.
The January 2024 Ludlow clinic will be held on Thursday, Jan. 11, from 1-4:45 p.m., at the Fletcher Memorial Library, 88 Main Street in Ludlow. Individuals can come prepared to the clinic with pictures of before and after the flood if accessible; receipts of repairs, replacement items, and lodging if displaced from flooding; insurance information, including a reply or settlement from insurance after a claim was submitted; household income information; any documents sent to or received from FEMA or the SBA; log-in information for your FEMA Disaster Relief account (if you have one); and any additional notes about damages, losses and impacts from flooding.
This effort serves as a lifeline for affected individuals and businesses and reinforces Vermont Law and Graduate School’s dedication to fostering practical legal education and community engagement.