2008 Woodie Awards
Recession wreaks welfare havoc
Amanda Cormier
Issue date: 10/30/08 Section: Local News
As the worldwide financial crisis deepens, Vermont social welfare programs have witnessed an influx of low-income residents seeking help to make ends meet. Across the state, health care and home heating have risen to the forefront of concern.
The Vermont Coalition of Clinics for the Uninsured (VCCU), an organization of nine free health clinics across the state and funded by the Vermont Department of Health, experienced a 20 percent increase in patients from July to September 2008, according to Executive Director Lynn Raymond-Empey.
Raymond-Empey said that she does not expect this trend to stop any time soon.
"I think we're going to see a new segment of the population contacting the clinics and me over the next several months because people are going to have to make some choices," she said. "Do I purchase heating oil for my house, food for my family, or do I pay my insurance premium which I may or may not be using over the coming months?"
Free clinics offer referral services and health care to the uninsured in Vermont, which is comprised of about 60,000 people, according to the Vermont Campaign for Healthcare Security Education Fund. Raymond-Empey said that the high number of small businesses in Vermont contributes to this statistic.
In Middlebury, the Open Door Clinic operates on Exchange Street. As the only free clinic associated with the VCCU in Addison County, a staff of volunteer healthcare providers, nurses and community members provide services ranging from treatment of injury to mental health counseling.
According to the Addison County Independent, visits to the Middlebury clinic have risen in the past few months, fueling support to re-open a clinic in Vergennes that closed last year. A new Open Door Clinic, funded by the Community Health Services of Addison County, opened in Vergennes Oct. 23. The clinic will be open every other Thursday from 6 to 9 p.m.
Raymond-Empey said that although she hopes that there will someday be no need for free clinics because the entire state is insured, she understands the state's unique economic situation.
The Vermont Coalition of Clinics for the Uninsured (VCCU), an organization of nine free health clinics across the state and funded by the Vermont Department of Health, experienced a 20 percent increase in patients from July to September 2008, according to Executive Director Lynn Raymond-Empey.
Raymond-Empey said that she does not expect this trend to stop any time soon.
"I think we're going to see a new segment of the population contacting the clinics and me over the next several months because people are going to have to make some choices," she said. "Do I purchase heating oil for my house, food for my family, or do I pay my insurance premium which I may or may not be using over the coming months?"
Free clinics offer referral services and health care to the uninsured in Vermont, which is comprised of about 60,000 people, according to the Vermont Campaign for Healthcare Security Education Fund. Raymond-Empey said that the high number of small businesses in Vermont contributes to this statistic.
In Middlebury, the Open Door Clinic operates on Exchange Street. As the only free clinic associated with the VCCU in Addison County, a staff of volunteer healthcare providers, nurses and community members provide services ranging from treatment of injury to mental health counseling.
According to the Addison County Independent, visits to the Middlebury clinic have risen in the past few months, fueling support to re-open a clinic in Vergennes that closed last year. A new Open Door Clinic, funded by the Community Health Services of Addison County, opened in Vergennes Oct. 23. The clinic will be open every other Thursday from 6 to 9 p.m.
Raymond-Empey said that although she hopes that there will someday be no need for free clinics because the entire state is insured, she understands the state's unique economic situation.
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