Landmark Blog 360: Disability Discrimination
As a parent with two children with disabilities, I struggle knowing their journey will be plagued with discrimination. By early elementary school both Dylan and Tristan were labeled by peers as “stupid” and/or “dumb.” Tristan and Dylan learn and think differently compared to typically developing children.
Funding Special Education Benefits Us All
Last fall, while I watched the Norwich University football team win 19–9 against Gallaudet University, I overheard words like “dumb,” “stupid,” and “retard” from NU spectators. These words weren’t comments on the Gallaudet players’ performance. The derogatory remarks referred to the players’ disabilities; Gallaudet students are deaf or hard of hearing.
Drugs and Poverty a Double Risk for Women
This past January Gov. Peter Shumlin dedicated his State of the State address to what has been called Vermont’s “full-blown opiate crisis.”
Eyes of Ceres: New Story Needed for Kids & Moms in Poverty
Last April, all Amanda had left in her kitchen to feed her family was popcorn, milk and a loaf of bread. Amanda, a single mother and St. Johnsbury resident, said she set aside her pride, and walked into the local welfare office to ask for assistance “I couldn’t let my children starve or have no heat.”
Secrets to Becoming a Sexy Mama
What makes mama sizzle? It seems, from our informal Sex and Motherhood survey of over 150 Vermont mothers, it’s complicated. Overall, Vermont mamas divulged that they desire more sex, but life’s distractions—babies, nursing, sleepless kids, mopping the floors, co-sleeping, disruptive teens and such— got in the way. We asked mothers this survey question, “What are the barriers to an active sex life?”
A Call for Women’s Leadership in Vermont
On town meeting day, 2011, Montpelier voters made history by electing a majority of women to the city council. That night, I was elected as its newest member. During my campaign, I’d often been shocked. Several nights a week, I would knock on doors in my district, or go to candidate house parties, stunned by the questions.