In her job as training and community engagement director at Northeast Kingdom Human Services, Terri Lavely typically provides mental health services, including training, educational opportunities, supports around mental health substance use and more to individuals and families in her community. But when the rivers rose in Vermont communities on July 9, 2023, causing catastrophic flooding, her focus shifted to helping people recover.
During that chaotic time, “It was boots on the ground seven days a week,” she said. “I was helping coordinate food support or backpacking supplies in — whatever people needed to get through the day.” In addition, she was connecting people with therapists and the mental health resources that provide emotional support and coping strategies.
Lavely didn’t have a day off until the beginning of September. She connected people to resources for food, shelter, physical health and financial security. “If you’re hungry and need fuel, you can’t even think about your mental health,” she explained. “It’s not traditional mental health services, but mental health is wellness.”
Eventually, Lavely’s efforts became part of Starting Over Strong Vermont (SOS-VT). This flood recovery outreach program is modeled after pandemic-era recovery efforts, recognizing that flooding doesn’t just damage or destroy physical property — it impacts survivors’ psychological health, as well.
Starting Over Strong Vermont serves Vermonters in areas affected by flooding in 2023 and 2024, including many areas within the Northeast Kingdom that were hit with three major flooding events within a year. Funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), its services are free for those who live, work or go to school in any of the affected counties.
The program was set to expire after a year. But on the anniversary of the devastating 2023 floods, Vermont was again hit by torrential rainfall, resulting in major flooding. Lavely put on her boots and got back out into the community, knocking on doors to see if anyone needed help.
Because of the private nature of her work, she wasn’t able to share many stories, but she was able to share a harrowing one from Lunenburg.
She received a referral for an elderly couple whose home had been devastated by the floods. They had nowhere to go, and she heard they had slept in their car. Unfortunately, after a car accident, their vehicle was no longer an option for a place to shelter. The pair couldn’t afford a hotel, leaving them with nowhere to go, so they were planning on staying in their flooded home.
“The house was completely destroyed,” Lavely said. “The foundation was tilting, and it would be unsafe to stay there. But their philosophy was that they had nowhere else to go, so if it goes over, it goes over.”
Lavely got in her car and rushed there, taking the long route through New Hampshire to avoid flooded roads. She met with the couple in person and helped connect them to services that would allow them to stay in a hotel while she looked into other options.
“What really struck me was how strong the husband was around his wife. It seemed like nothing bothered him. Then I would speak to him on a call alone, and he would just cry,” Lavely said. “He was retired and up to this point had no other worries besides paying taxes. He got completely overwhelmed.”
The Starting Over Strong Vermont approach was to take a few burdens off the couple every day and start connecting them with things that could help. Through this process, the husband admitted to Lavely that he had never asked for help a day in his life.
“That’s okay. I showed up anyway, and I’m here to help,” Lavely told him.
Do you or someone you know need help recovering from flood trauma?
Get in touch with Starting Over Strong Vermont today at 802-651-1767 or visit the website.
With her assistance, the couple were able to connect with the right resources to move into temporary housing, and Lavely continued to check up on them. Even when they didn’t ask, she would call and see if there was anything she could do to cross an item off their list. Sometimes there was nothing. Sometimes the pair just needed someone to talk to — Lavely was available for that, too. Often, knowing that someone was there to follow up and connect was all that was needed. They were not going through this alone.
Currently, the couple are living in an apartment in Danville. They’re purchasing a mobile home that they can move onto their family’s land in July. Even though the crisis has ended for them, Lavely still calls to check in, just to see how they’re doing.
“The work I’ve done with Starting Over Strong Vermont is some of the most meaningful work I’ve done in 21 years,” Lavely said. “This isn’t people coming in for services; it’s going out and saying to people we are here for them.”
Being the Connector
Starting Over Strong Vermont became part of Kristen Briggs’ job in August 2023, just one month after the flood. At the time, she was working as director of access and acute care with the Clara Martin Center in Orange County. Briggs said she saw the need for services immediately.
“The flooding was devastating. Communities were in turmoil. Homes and businesses were destroyed; it was a pervasive issue. It was clear that the state wanted to move forward to get federal assistance,” Briggs said. She said she knew it could work because of the processes already in place to get services to people quickly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since then, she’s accepted the position of director of mental health services for all of Vermont. She was a natural fit for this role; she spent years in direct services and system-of-care development. She regularly meets with team leads such as Lavely at Northeast Kingdom Human Services to go over strategies for reaching people in different counties and helps them problem solve.
Briggs also supports training for team leads to teach them the process for going out in the community and asking people about their concerns. “The work Starting Over Strong Vermont does ranges from taking phone calls to going door-to-door to attending community meetings. Meeting people where they’re at is the most important part of the job,” Briggs said.
“When someone is deciding where they’re going to sleep or how to keep their animals and children safe, it’s really helpful to have someone else define what resources are available and to do the research for them. Someone who is local and near to you,” she added.
“With the anniversary of the flood, we recognize that this summer could be a triggering time for people. We want them to know that we are here for them.”Kristen Briggs
Though the flooding happened almost a year ago, it’s not too late to reach out to Starting Over Strong Vermont for help. “With the anniversary of the flood, we recognize that this summer could be a triggering time for people. We want them to know that we are here for them,” Briggs said. People seeking support shouldn’t hesitate — the program will continue through July.
Helena Van Voorst is the executive director of the United Way of Addison County and a team lead for Starting Over Strong Vermont. She said she sees that anxiety come up with the people in her community.
“There’s this growing sense of worry and despair people have when looking at the forecast,” Van Voorst said. “Some people were able to make renovations on their homes after the floods, but most haven’t been able to solve everything.”
Van Voorst has connected people to support groups and resources around the state through Starting Over Strong Vermont. She tries to make the process as simple as possible for the people she works with, meeting their needs by being a listening ear or helping them fill out paperwork for other services.
Briggs described the job of Starting Over Strong Vermont as “the bridge,” saying, “We connect people with what they need.”
Reducing the Stigma
Often Lavely talks to people who just want to share their story and don’t need anything else. But sharing these harrowing stories is important, and there’s so much stress after a traumatic event that people often don’t pause to relive it until someone asks.
“Someone told me that they were on top of their fridge just watching the flood waters rise, and they didn’t have their phone. They couldn’t call to have someone rescue them, so they were just sitting up there. That’s traumatic, and we need to talk about that,” Lavely said.
While she encountered a lot of people who needed help after the floods, she also encountered a lot of people who didn’t.
“I might talk to someone who would say to me, ‘I don’t need help, but can you check on my neighbor?’” she said. Many people in Vermont, she added, think of others before themselves.
In June, Northeast Kingdom Human Services is rolling out support groups to address the prolonged trauma that people have and to connect them to other community members with similar experiences. Lavely worries that they still haven’t reached all the people that they need to or that there are people out there who could use help and haven’t spoken to anyone about their needs.
Do you or someone you know need help recovering from flood trauma?
Get in touch with Starting Over Strong Vermont today at 802-651-1767 or visit the website.
Alex Frantz, communications director at the Vermont Department of Mental Health, recognizes that this is a common problem. “I do think people get intimidated by counseling and think it sounds very intense. But with Starting Over Strong Vermont, it’s just someone who can listen and give advice on how to help take steps after a disaster.”
Lavely recognizes that there is a certain stigma surrounding mental health services. She worries that people might think they don’t need them “bad enough” and don’t want to take resources away from other people.
“There’s enough to go around,” she said.
This article was commissioned and paid for by the Vermont Department of Mental Health.
