SerVermont - VT VOAD Disaster Services VISTA

VT VOAD Strengthens Vermont¿s ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters by uniting nonprofit, faith-based, community, and volunteer organizations under a shared mission of cooperation, communication, coordination, and collaboration. Our purpose is to ensure that individuals and families affected by disasters, especially those with limited resources, receive timely, equitable, and effective support. VT VOAD serves a broad network of community-based organizations, local and state agencies, volunteer groups, and the Vermonters they assist. While we do not provide direct services ourselves, we build the capacity of the organizations that do. This includes groups supporting low-income households, rural communities, older adults, people with disabilities, and families facing economic hardship who are disproportionately impacted by disasters. Our poverty-alleviation work focuses on strengthening long-term recovery systems, improving resource coordination, and reducing the financial social burdens disasters place on vulnerable populations. We help member organizations collaborate more effectively, share information, access training, and mobilize volunteers. By improving statewide disaster readiness and recovery infrastructure, VT VOAD helps ensure that low-income Vermonters have faster access to assistance, fewer barriers to recovery, and greater resilience in future crises. Through capacity-building, partnership development, and improved communication systems, VT VOAD works to create a more coordinated and equitable disaster response network that reduces the long-term impacts of poverty and strengthens community resilience across Vermont.