Events in Addison County aim to raise awareness about homelessness

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. (WCAX) - People gathered in Middlebury on Thursday to help raise awareness about homelessness in Vermont.

Advocates were out with signs and more than 200 flags were in the ground on the Middlebury Green to represent the number of homeless people in Addison County. Each color represented an age group in the homeless population.

Organizers and those experiencing homelessness say events like this help bring visibility to the issue.

“Homelessness is not a conversation that is talked about enough. I think in Addison County we are very rural and people may or may not see that it exists here. The message really truly is that it’s here,” said Heidi Lacey of the Addison County Housing Coalition.

“You get a stigma and they are like, oh. We are not bad people, we just had bad circumstances that landed us here,” said Seth Gleason, who is homeless.

Similar events were held in other parts of Addison County throughout the day.

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