For 28 nights, Brenda Siegel and Josh Lisenby slept outside on the State House steps. Lying in sleeping bags in frigid weather, eating food brought to them by volunteers, the two succeeded in their mission to change policy around the General Assistance Motel Program.
Because of Brenda and Josh, hundreds of Vermonters experiencing homelessness got access to shelter around the state in the heart of winter. Because of Brenda and Josh, many in our state did not have to sleep on the streets or freeze to death.
Currently, 550,000 people are homeless in the United States, where nobody should be sleeping outside on the streets. Yet that is still the case from California to Maine.
We need leaders who are willing to shake up the status quo and pass policy to address this dire issue. I know, if elected as governor, Brenda will make it her mission to end homelessness in our state. She cares deeply about the most vulnerable Vermonters, and she won't stop until everyone gets the resources they need and can thrive in our state.
Brenda is passionate about making a huge difference in the opioid crisis, and has a strong history of leadership in standing alongside others for racial justice. She is the only candidate who has released a plan to fully protect reproductive and civil liberty. She is a bold leader who knows how to get things done, and as governor, she would move our brave little state in a bright direction.
As a young person, I am really anxious about the future. With the looming climate crisis, racial injustice, and poverty all on the line, I feel a sense of urgency to make change for the better.
I am asking Vermonters to make a brighter future for my generation - good enough is not enough. We have to do better.