This past week Hardwick Neighbor to Neighbor (HNtN) passed a milestone in its work helping the town respond to emergencies. A portable trailer has been purchased, outfitted and stocked, making it ready to be moved where it’s needed in response to future disasters.
When the 2023 flood hit, the town manager and staff set up an Emergency Supply and Support Center (ESSC). At that time, there was no template for how that would happen.
In the intervening two years, the Town of Hardwick has been partnering with HNtN to close gaps in the town’s readiness to respond to future emergencies. That effort includes detailed plans for effective communication, volunteer mobilization, the ESSC and an emergency shelter.
In close partnership with the town, Hardwick Neighbor to Neighbor has assumed responsibility for setting up and managing an Emergency Supply and Support Center during any future disaster. It is a familiar role for HNtN, with the organization having managed the Center during the last two floods. The Civic Standard will be taking responsibility for an Emergency Shelter, as it has in the past.
In July 2025, the town purchased a portable trailer to house the inventory needed to stock the ESSC from day one.
In the past two floods, the town had minimal stored inventory when the disasters were declared.
Setting up the center, located at the Community Center in the former Hardwick Health Center building, where the Hardwick Police Department is now, meant chaotic scrambling to secure essential inventory.
A wide variety of regional sources were contacted to help supply the ESSC, and urgent requests for donations were initiated. That created delays in being able to meet the immediate supply and support needs of residents.
In contrast, in the event of the next declared disaster, dehumidifiers, sump pumps, fans, shovels, wheelbarrows, muck-out kits and other necessary supplies, will be immediately available at the ESSC. Volunteer muck-out teams will convene at the ESSC from day one, and be outfitted with the equipment and supplies needed to jumpstart their efforts.
Inventory in the trailer can now easily be transported to another site in the town should that expedite the disaster response.
Local resident Shawn Messier volunteered his carpentry skills to build the necessary shelving for the trailer using materials paid for by HNtN. Amanda Fecteau, Hardwick Payroll & Benefits Administrator, has been overseeing the purchase of new items to add to inventory that was left in the ESSC after the last flood. A team of HNtN volunteers and town employees are now working together to efficiently organize supplies.
In the first and second weeks after disaster strikes, there are all too few outside organizations available to help address the most demanding phase of a disaster response. Strong town leadership relies on the ability of neighbors helping neighbors to effectively meet the needs of residents.
Hardwick has become an exemplar in the region for its commitment to readiness and collaboration, as it develops the capacity to best care for community needs in times of greatest need.
Hardwick’s updated Emergency Plan has already drawn attention from other Vermont towns beginning similar work. Kristen Leahy, Hardwick Zoning and Floodplain Administrator and Helen Beattie, HNtN member, recently presented the model at both VCRD and VEM regional conferences.
As a result, Hardwick is now part of a growing network of regional emergency resources. This emerging collaboration connects local coordinators, volunteer groups and municipal leaders across neighboring towns who are developing similar community-based response systems.
The network’s goal is to share templates, tools and lessons learned so that communities can strengthen their own readiness without starting from scratch.
The network provides a mechanism for mutual support, for example, loaning equipment, sharing trained volunteers or coordinating recovery outreach, when a disaster affects one town more severely than another.
Leahy has continued to share Hardwick’s framework in conversations with nearby municipalities and state partners, helping to build consistency and capacity across the region so that local response can be faster, more effective and more connected when it’s most needed.
“We’re not just preparing Hardwick – we’re helping to shape a shared regional approach. The more we connect towns and local groups before the next disaster, the stronger everyone becomes when an emergency happens,” said Leahy.
“Hardwick’s work demonstrates what can happen when a community takes the initiative to prepare, plan, and partner,” said Cynthia Stuart, project consultant. “By combining the strengths of the Town, Hardwick, Neighbor to Neighbor, and local volunteers, Hardwick has created a model that not only strengthens the local response capacity but also inspires other Vermont towns to take similar proactive steps toward resilience.”
(Cynthia was the Project Consultant for developing our Local Emergency Management Plan addendums).
