City of Montpelier, Vermont

Montpelier 2011 / Annual Report / 52For the elderly themselves it means to come to a familiar placethat offers social, intellectual, physical engagement and medicalsupport.DEE ROLLINS, Executive DirectorVermont Association forthe Blind & VisuallyImpairedIn Vermont today, over 10,500 residents are blind or visuallyimpaired. Vision problems can complicate an individual’sability to perform daily tasks, stay mobile inside and outside thehome, and enjoy leisure activities. Additionally, Vermont’s ruralnature makes it less likely for those with visual impairments toencounter others who face similar challenges, and thus createfeelings of isolation and a sense that they are not understood.During fiscal year 2010, VABVI served 1,369 clients from all14 counties in Vermont, including forty-one (41) adult clientsand seven (7) students from the City of Montpelier.Since 1926, VABVI, a nonprofit organization, has diligentlypursued our mission of enabling Vermonters with visionproblems, whether blindness or impairment, to achieve andmaintain independence. We are the only private agency inVermont to offer a complete range of services to visuallyimpaired residents – and at no cost to the client.Services include Rehabilitation (adapting daily living tasks toallow those with low vision to live independently); Orientationand Mobility (providing white cane and guide dog instruction,allowing individuals to navigate through their home andcommunity independently); Assistive Technology (adaptiveaids allow clients to successfully perform most activitiesthey desire); Social Networking (improving social skills andproviding a support network); and Statewide Transportation(volunteer drivers provide rides to medical appointments,grocery stores and for personal visits).VABVI has four offices statewide, located in Brattleboro,Montpelier, Rutland and South Burlington. For moreinformation about VABVI’s services, or to volunteer, pleasecontact us at (800) 639-5861, email us at general@vabvi.org orvisit us our website at www.vabvi.org.~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~Please contact Dave Agnew-Blais, Development Coordinator,at dagnewblais@vabvi.org or (800) 639-5861 ext. 217 if youwould prefer to receive this information by email. Thank you.Sexual Assault Crisis TeamThe Sexual Assault Crisis Team (SACT) is a private,non-profit organization that offers free of chargeadvocacy for male and female victims of sexual violence. Thisadvocacy includes emotional support both one on one andgroups, 24/7 emergency hotline, legal support, medical andhospital support, emergency overnight shelter support andshelter use for victims/survivors, their non-offending familymembers during the legal process including court, depositions,rape exam recovery, time before or after individual counselingsessions through a private therapist, other times when victims/survivors need a private space or bed for an hour or a day. SACTalso provides education around all sexual violence issues forWashington County Schools K-12 and colleges, service groupsand other public organizations.This year SACT is facing additional demands on our resourcesas we attempt to provide the services needed for male andfemale shelter residents who are leaving behind their homes,belongings and financial resources for medical, food andrestart up cost. Victims and survivors not only look to us toprovide food, emergency dental and or medical assistance butalso look to us for transportation funds and relocation fundsincluding rent deposits etc.. We have also found our shelterstaff are having to provide assistance to people using ourshelter to apply for or change location information for SSI andother resource needs. We are working closely with NorwichUniversity and the Vermont National Guard Sexual ViolenceResponse Coordinator to ensure returning soldiers and theirfamily members, who are struggling with sexual violenceissues, are offered all of our services to facilitate their transitionto civilian life.SACT operates using paid staff and during 2009-2010 wehad five volunteers and seven part time stipend paid hotlinestaff from local communities who trained for thirty hours toprovide confidential advocacy to victims by responding tohotline calls. During 2009-2010 SACT received 1558 callsfor services including crisis calls for sexual assaults, requestsfor emotional support, hospital advocacy, criminal justiceadvocacy, information and referral, and requests for educationand training. These calls for services were handled by bothpaid staff and volunteers. During fiscal year 2009-2010 SACTprovided services to 166 new unduplicated and 7 return clients.SACT served survivors who suffered from a variety of abuse,including sexual assault, sexual abuse, stalking, pornographyand human trafficking.SACT provided shelter for male and female survivors of sexualviolence. SACT also provided shelter for male victims ofdomestic violence and for special needs victims, primarily thoseneeding a handicapped accessible facility which allows thenon-offending care provider to stay in shelter with the victim/