I think it's more like contacting the corporate offices of McDonald's about the missing fries. Yeah, they're not going to get involved over a single order, but if there are persistent problems with the delivery of fries in a given area, someone's going to investigate the issue.

In this case our reps can demand answers from Luis dejoy about why there have been persistent problems in parts of this state. If the problem is "not enough staff" then they can demand a plan for addressing the shortage. They can haul his butt before congress to testify. If needed they can sponsor legislation to increase funding for the post office. I'm sure there are other things they can do that I'm not aware of, what I do know is they are not powerless to affect change.

I also know that they won't do anything if they don't know about the problem in the first place.

https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/news-sanders-welch-balint-demand-answers-from-postal-service-leadership-on-postal-delays-in-hinesburg-and-across-vermont/

https://vtdigger.org/2023/02/17/vermonts-congressional-delegation-urges-top-us-postal-officials-to-address-statewide-mail-delays/amp/

Our representatives are aware of the problem. It doesn't hurt to continue contacting them about it to encourage them to stay on top of it.

Just when you think you've seen the whole place you realize there's a whole other back half behind the meat counter.

Thanks for the response. The article didn't include info about past years, so it wasn't clear to me if it was an anomaly or not. And if it was a significant difference from before the pandemic then I'd suggest housing the homeless is a really great way to keep track of the problem .

I also want to make it clear that I'm not trying to minimize the scope of the problem. Even if Vermont were 43rd instead of 3rd, 2000 people homeless is 2000 too many.

There's an important paragraph tucked in towards the end of the article :

"HUD’s point-in-time count, conducted by shelter workers and advocates nationwide on the same night in January, is widely considered to be an undercount of the actual problem, and is highly dependent on local resources. Martin Hahn, the executive director of the Vermont Coalition to End Homelessness, which spearheads the effort in Vermont each year, said it’s possible that the high rate of sheltered homelessness in Vermont allowed the state to get a more accurate count than other states, contributing to its poor ranking. "

Regardless of where Vermont stands relative to other states, it's clear to me that something should be done to help people without permanent housing. However, if the goal is simply to rank Vermont next to the other states, I think this is a mere snapshot and probably not the final say in how we're doing. I'd like to see the data from before the pandemic and relative trend lines here and elsewhere.

North East Kingdom

Grocery stores. As someone who recently moved from central NY, I can tell you that food's more expensive here.

From what I heard on the radio, folks are tapping but the sugar content is lower than normal so you'll need more sap to get syrup.

I find noise canceling headphones and a favorite podcast or album helps me deal with shopping in crowds.

I was surprised at how much more food costs around here vs central NY where I moved from.

And now I'm sad for you. I hope you are able to find a community