WESTMINSTER, Vt. – Across Windham and Windsor counties, rising heating costs, scarce housing, and grocery bills are outpacing paychecks. For many individuals and families, one unexpected bill – a broken furnace, a rent hike, a missed shift – is the difference between stability and crisis.
Over the past year, Southeastern Vermont Community Action (SEVCA) listened, and the message was consistent: Rising housing, food, and energy costs are squeezing individuals and families, worsened by barriers – transportation, an aging population, isolation, limited access, complex systems – that keep people from getting help. Community members also told us these challenges rarely exist in isolation: housing affects health, transportation affects employment, energy costs affect household budgets, and food insecurity affects children’s ability to learn. Needs are connected, so our response must be too – coordinated, whole-person support. That’s the difference between reacting to crises and building lasting stability.
With that input, we built a three-year strategic plan, and the first step toward implementing it was revisiting our mission and vision. This was not a wordsmithing exercise, but a check on whether our purpose matches what the region needs. The mission stays rooted in our longstanding purpose; the vision changed more substantially, distilled from 10 statements into one.
“Why revisit our mission and vision? Because doing so is the first step toward a strategic response to community needs – one that ensures we’re acting with intention, not just reaction,” said Joshua Davis, executive director of SEVCA.
SEVCA’s new mission statement is as follows: “To partner with individuals and communities to alleviate the hardships of poverty, provide opportunities to grow and thrive, and eliminate causes of poverty in southeastern Vermont.”
It’s new vision statement is: “SEVCA is dedicated to realizing its vision of southeastern Vermont where people have the stability, resources, and opportunity to build sustainable futures free from poverty.”
Over the next three years, SEVCA will align existing programs and develop new ones to meet emerging needs, strengthen partnerships and coordination across services, improve outreach so more people know what help is available, and expand participant feedback and satisfaction efforts.
If you wish to help in SEVCA’s mission, you can volunteer your time by reaching out at hello@sevca.org; make a gift at www.sevca.org/donate; and/or spread the word about SEVCA to friends, family, and neighbors.
Every hour, gift, and shared connection invests in building a stronger community across Southeastern Vermont.