HARDWICK — Three February suppers sponsored by the Hardwick Area Neighbor to Neighbor organization included discussions about resident’s experiences in July and since as Hardwick and surrounding towns recovered from flooding.
The crowd engaged in the Neighbor to Neighbor discussion at Hardwick’s American Legion Hall
The meetings’ purpose was to expand connections among residents and gather information to share with the town’s Emergency Management Plan committee.
The meetings produced shared stories about how town government, local organizations and individuals quickly stepped forward to help.
One of the themes that emerged was an appreciation for how fast the town went to work fixing roads.
Another repeated topic was how many people responded to calls for volunteers and helped to clean out basements, yards and whatever else was needed. Many truck owners hauled away loads of destroyed appliances, carpets and water-logged household goods, never asking for payment for time or gas.
The question of how to better prepare for future challenges was also discussed.
One focus of the groups was the need to be alerted to risks ahead of time.
Town officials said an easy way to get notices is by signing up on Hardwick’s Emergency Contact List, which is a link on the left-hand side of the home page of the town website at hardwickvt.gov.
Other electronic ways to get information during a crisis are through Facebook and Front Porch Forum. There’s a Facebook page for one neighborhood in the central area of Hardwick village.
Because of the possibility of power outages occurring, the idea of setting up physical locations in town where people can go to learn what’s happening and how to get help was raised. The Buffalo Mountain Market has volunteered to be one site.
The East Hardwick February gathering inspired one cluster of homes to commit to organize a summer potluck to get to know each other better and to plan for ways neighbors could easily check on one another in times of need.
Neighbor to Neighbor isn’t just active during emergencies. There is now a list of volunteers willing to help with animal care, carpentry, running errands, peer-to-peer counseling, food delivery, gardening help, snow shoveling, and wood stacking, to name a few. To be a volunteer call (802) 441-3301, which connects to the Jeudevine Memorial Library; email [email protected] or stop by the library during open hours and ask for Diane at 93 North Main St.
