To sign onto this letter yourself- click here. 

To: Governor Scott,
Cc:  Vermont State Legislature, local Selectboards
As Vermonters, we are now in a global crisis along with the rest of the planet. We thank the State and local governments that have already taken some swift action to create protections during this time. As voices from the LGBTQ, Black, POC, disabled, working class, and immigrant communities, we know COVID-19 impacts our communities disproportionately.
As a community we are being asked to self-distance and quarantine in order to save lives and  bring about the end of this crisis more quickly. We know every person within our community is impacted by COVID-19, from work stoppages to sickness, to increased fear, anxiety, and isolation, and that most Vermonters want to do their part for the greater good. We also know that in order to fully engage in adequate self-distancing efforts people need safe housing, economic resources, access to health care, and critical protective equipment. We hope you will act to help keep everyone in our communities safe and able to weather this storm.

There is an ongoing obligation to continue implementing steps that will keep all people in Vermont safe during this COVID-19 crisis. We believe these actions will support the health and wellbeing of all members of our community and urge you to put them in place:

• Provide hazard pay and PPE protections for all essential workers: Essential workers are putting their lives on the line every day with higher exposure to COVID-19. It is vital that these workers are incentivized to continue their work and are provided with safety measures to support their health and wellbeing. Many of these essential workers are regularly underpaid and are at a higher financial risk due to COVID-19. 
• Instruct health insurance companies to remove all co-pays and waive deductibles: For all types of care, not only for COVID-19-related care. The State of Washington issued such an emergency order on March 5.
• Freeze all rent and mortgage payments: Many tenants and homeowners will not be seeing a paycheck as businesses close. People must not suffer during this crisis due to rent. 
• Halt Evictions and foreclosures: COVID-19 requires that people are able to self distance themselves; having safe and secure housing is of the utmost importance. Windham County Courts have already pressed pause for the next 90 days. The rest of Vermont can follow suit. 
• Provide comprehensive support to people who are unhoused or living in overcrowded conditions, including safe isolation for the sick and relocation of people in crowded shelters.
• Suspend Immigration enforcement: Everyone deserves to be in the safety of their own home during this time and all times. Vermont must halt all I.C.E. activity at this time to protect the public health of our most vulnerable communities. 
• Reduce the prison population: Identify and release the following people: individuals who are elderly; populations that the CDC has classified as vulnerable (those with asthma, cancer, heart disease, lung disease, and diabetes); people in local jails who are within 6 months of completing their sentence; and people incarcerated due to technical violations of probation and parole. Implement other suggestions made by community organizers and District Attorneys from throughout the US detailed here.
• Help those who are incarcerated stay connected: provide unlimited free video visits and phone calls. Currently, Vermont DOC is offering one free video visitation and two 5 minute phone calls per week. This is insufficient to meet the need to connect with loved ones during this time of rapid change and global health crisis. While we understand and support pausing in-person visits during this time to support community health, we cannot allow prison phone companies and video visitation companies to profit from public health distancing efforts during this time.

We recognize Vermont community members should always have access to the level of health, safety, and connection provided by these actions. In the short term, these steps will help our state confront the current public health crisis. In the long term, everyone in our communities should have access to safe and affordable housing, health care, economic security, and connection with loved ones all the time. These issues must continue to be addressed after this current crisis in order to more fully support our whole community.
Signed, 
Out in the Open
The Root Social Justice Center 
Brattleboro Solidarity
Lost River Racial Justice 
Outright Vermont
Groundworks Collaborative 
Migrant Justice
​Vermont Workers Center
Pride Center of Vermont

Dearest Out in the Open Community, 

For so many of us, the world is a totally different place than it was when I last wrote you all almost four weeks ago. For so many of us, this present reality is not so different from the one we were living in February. With the veil having been pulled back to reveal even more clearly the lack of justice, equity, and access to power and resources so many of us have been screaming about for far too long. It has been a painful few weeks. And as my therapist so wonderfully reflects when I come to her saying "I am not sure I can handle this (whatever the "this" is at that present moment). She says, "You are handling it. This is part of you handling it." We are collectively handling this time even when the supports we were told existed have fallen flat and we're collectively and individually left searching for a solution. 

When I last wrote you all, I was feeling a lot of grief. I am still having many periods of grieving right now but the prevailing things I'm experiencing presently are a strong desire to stand together, support each other, and love each other through this struggle and beyond the next one. It's what we as LGBTQ folks have always done and what we as rural people have always done. 

It's why Out in the Open continues building community and support structures outside of the State even through the best times. So that we're already here for each other in the worst. Because in times like these, we need each other. And while we've witnessed and participated in an incredible ability for webs of support and mutual aid to spring up so quickly right now, having existing trust and relationships with folks helps immensely and allow us to come together more quickly in times like this, when we need to. The only way through this is through this together. 

And I promised you all an update on or around April 6! So, with all of this in mind, we will be continuing to balance both holding community close and keeping shared public health at the forefront. Some updates: 

• We're joining with some collaborators from around Vermont to continue pushing for protections all of us need in this time. Read the letter and sign on here. 
• We will be continuing with online-based programming for the foreseeable future and will be in touch when we are ready to return to in-person gatherings. Find the many wonderful things that are going on here.
  • We know that many of our rural folks don’t have reliable internet access. You can access Zoom just with a phone if you do not have internet access. We will always provide a phone/call-in option for these gatherings. Any questions, please reach out. 
• Join our rural LGBTQ online community. This is a space to connect, build relationships, reach out for support, and share in rural LGBTQ community. Unsure about how Slack works? That’s okay! Get on and try it out and reach out to Eva for support. Keep your eyes open for some videos walking you through how it works soon! 
• We will continue providing regular updates and adjust this plan as needed.   

Repeating my refrain from a few weeks ago because it still feels so relevant: love each other, care for each other, love yourself, care for yourself, ask for and seek help when you need it, continue making choices that contribute to community health and safety. We are doing this. 


With solidarity and love, 
HB & Out in the Open

We are here to support our rural LGBTQ community in this time and always. We are working continuously to make virtual space for our community to connect and support each other. Our recurring group spaces have moved to meeting virtually. If you would like to attend - please reach out to eva@weareoutintheopen.org or check out our calendar which is being updated regularly. 

• Rural Trans and Queer Health Justice Organizing, to get involved email eva@weareoutintheopen.org
• Solidarity with Black Lives and the Uprisings: https://www.weareoutintheopen.org/blog/solidarity-black-lives
• RuralQueer Community Care- Offers and asks list. 
• Rural New England COVID-19 Mutual Aid
• Letter to State and local elected officials- Vermont ensure community health and safety, click here to sign on: https://bit.ly/2Xm88QJ
• Out in the Open Radio Hour - send us recordings of what life is like for you in this pandemic, we're compiling an episode of what it's like for rural LGBTQ folks in this time. Email recordings to eva@weareoutintheopen.org. 
• Rural Queer Crafternoon- Wednesdays- 4-5PM, zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/93064988480​
• Rural LGBTQ Video Drop-In space, Thursdays,  4-5PM,  https://zoom.us/j/99685977199
• Rural LGBTQ Yoga,  Sundays 12:1:15PM, https://zoom.us/j/96726065906