Vermont

How a former Vermont inmate works to help others and change the system

Published

2 years ago

July 14, 2022

How a former Vermont inmate works to help others and change the system

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – A former Vermont inmate who turned her life round now works to assist others like her discover a higher path, and her expertise is having an impression on inmates and the system.

In case you ask anybody who has frolicked behind bars, they almost certainly don’t wish to relive that point being locked up. However Ashley Messier, who spent a number of years as an inmate, commonly heads again contained in the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility.

“This was my bunk. I used to be in right here with one different particular person. So, once I was incarcerated in February of 2015, this was my house,” Messier stated.

From her outdated cell to the household space the place she frolicked along with her daughter, Messier walks by the power the place she spent a number of years.

Ashley Messier: That is my handprint and that is my oldest daughter Lina’s handprint.

Reporter Ike Bendavid: You’re seeing this, you’re touching it. What goes by your thoughts?

Ashley Messier: A mix of issues. It brings up for me a sense of accountability, at all times attempting to maintain within the forefront of my thoughts the impact of my incarceration, my dependancy, the issues that led me to incarceration.

Messier says the story of how she ended up in jail began with an abusive childhood, surviving sexual assault as a younger lady and– like so many others within the facility– substance abuse. Hers was an dependancy to prescription capsules.

“Whenever you wrestle with substance use, you sort of get clear, relapse, get clear, relapse,” she stated.

Whereas caught in that cycle, she fed her dependancy by cashing checks that didn’t belong to her. Finally, she was caught, convicted and despatched to the ladies’s jail in South Burlington.

Whereas inside reflecting on her life and household, Messier made a promise to assist herself and others by sharing her experiences.

“I made a dedication that I used to be going to commit some sort of change and I used to be going to return again and pull different ladies out of right here with me,” she stated.

She stayed true to that promise, working to get herself again on her toes to the purpose the place she now walks into the jail to mentor and speak with the ladies inside at present.

“I do quite a lot of work, not for pay however I did it as a result of I do know the worth of the ladies on this constructing. I’ve seen a number of the most wonderful expertise, a number of the kindest, most-compassionate individuals,” she stated.

Messier wears many hats to assist the ladies inside, with management roles together with the Ladies’s Justice and Freedom Initiative, the Felony Authorized Committee and the Division of Corrections Monitoring Committee.

“I’ve seen a lot that it has triggered a lot religion in me for having religion within the individuals on this constructing that I come again right here by alternative,” she stated.

The pandemic hindered her potential over the previous two years to have in-person visits however now Messier says that’s choosing again up.

She says, if something, she’s there to be a voice for these inside and somebody present inmates can belief and speak to. This comes because the state continues to discover reforms after allegations of sexual abuse within the ladies’s jail.

She additionally desires to deliver accountability and adjusted conduct to these inside, and share her perspective with the state.

“In case you stroll right into a facility, most individuals are going to say, ‘I didn’t do it, I’m harmless,’” she stated.

Messier feels the state has to do a greater job addressing what individuals go house to once they get out and reenter society.

“They will stroll again into the identical choices into the neighborhood, so you must clear up the recidivism downside and the neighborhood integration downside,” she stated.

Corrections Commissioner Nick Deml believes former inmates like Messier are a key a part of the way forward for corrections in Vermont.

“Previously incarcerated particular person brings a singular perspective and distinctive insights on these issues,” Deml stated. “If we’re going to design the system, and might you construct the system that we would like, it’s going to should be knowledgeable by all these views, together with in and virtually most significantly the incarcerated inhabitants and what they really feel and expertise once they’re in our system.”

Till then, Messier plans to maintain utilizing classes from her time as an inmate and assist those that are at present locked up.

“The incarcerated people on this constructing see me as anyone they will belief,” she stated. “I’m considered one of them, I’m not a supplier, I didn’t simply learn a university textbook, I don’t simply do that for the paycheck: That is my life.”

Messier says there’s at all times extra work to do in reform and reentry into the neighborhood. She has issues that folks outdoors of Chittenden County don’t have sufficient sources, as issues like housing are a difficulty.

Corrections officers say they’re listening to her, however in addition they really feel they’ve techniques in place to assist inmates statewide.

Associated Tales:

Survivor shares story of Vermont human trafficking ordeal

Neighborhood activists push for jail options

ACLU hosts dialogue looking for justice for alleged victims of jail abuse

ACLU pushes Vermont lawmakers for jail reform

Protesters push for extra transparency in prisons

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Related Topics:abuse chance clean corrections crime Featured inmate made news Prison promise second substance use vermont WCAX

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Vermont

Plan to Sort Vermont's Mail in Connecticut Is Suspended

Published

5 hours ago

May 21, 2024

Press Room

Plan to Sort Vermont's Mail in Connecticut Is Suspended

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ANNE WALLACE ALLEN ©️ Seven Days
Vermont mail that was routed through Connecticut

The U.S. Postal Service has suspended its plan to relocate Vermont’s mail sorting to Connecticut — a move that many fear would only worsen delays in a troubled system.

“I am encouraged USPS listened to the concerns we raised from our constituents, and finally paused these misguided facility reviews,” Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) said in a prepared statement after the suspension was announced last week.

“I will keep fighting to improve mail delivery in Vermont, which has been terribly deteriorated,” Welch added.

Postal Service Plans to Route Vermont Mail Through Connecticut

By Anne Wallace Allen

Business

The Postal Service had proposed reorganizing its mail sorting hubs in Essex Junction and White River Junction. Some local letters mailed in Vermont would have been diverted for sorting in Hartford, Conn., 250 miles south of Burlington. That was part of a complex plan to consolidate hundreds of distribution locations into about 60 large centers around the country.

The Postal Service has been looking to cut costs. It hasn’t been able to cover its expenses for more than 15 years, mostly because of declining demand for first-class mail, its most profitable product.

Long before the consolidation plan was announced, members of Congress were vowing to take action to improve service, particularly in rural areas, where complaints about missing and late mail are legion. Many rural post offices are open only a few hours a day, and they face severe staff shortages that cause unplanned closures.

“It made absolutely no sense to me on many levels, climate change being one of them,” said Joseph Gainza, a Marshfield activist who hosts “Gathering Peace,”
a social justice program on WGDR radio. “If you’re going to be delivering mail down to Hartford and bringing it all the way back up to Vermont by truck, your carbon footprint gets larger.”

Rural Mail Carriers Face Pay Cuts That Could Worsen Service Woes for Vermonters

By Rachel Hellman

Economy

The Postal Service has been hearing a chorus of complaints. Many concern late and missing mail, problems with package delivery, and rising costs. In April, the Postal Service announced a proposal to raise the price of a first-class Forever stamp from 68 cents to 73 cents, a change that would take effect July 14 if approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission.

The target of complaints is often Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who was appointed in June 2020 by the Postal Service’s 11-member Board of Governors, a panel selected by then-president Donald Trump.

In April, Welch and 25 other members of Congress from both sides of the aisle urged DeJoy to reconsider the consolidation plan. Welch also asked President Biden to nominate people to the USPS Board of Governors who would hold DeJoy accountable for the rural delivery problems.

Steve Hutkins, a retired professor who monitors the Postal Service from his home in Rhinebeck, N.Y. and runs a website called Save the Post Office, said he thinks the 26 lawmakers’ letter influenced DeJoy’s decision to halt the consolidation.

“You could sense momentum building when 26 senators all signed off on a letter asking for a pause,” Hutkins said Monday.

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Vermont

State Sen. Brian Campion, another veteran lawmaker, won't seek reelection

Published

13 hours ago

May 20, 2024

Press Room

State Sen. Brian Campion, another veteran lawmaker, won't seek reelection

State Sen. Brian Campion, who helms the chamber’s education committee, is not running for reelection.

The Bennington County Democrat announced his departure from the Legislature, where he has served for the last 14 years, in a press release Monday. He was first elected to the Vermont House in 2010, and the Senate in 2014.

“Serving in the legislature for the last 14 years has been the honor of my life,” Campion said in a statement. “I’m proud to have made a real difference for the people from Bennington County and look forward to continuing to be involved in my community.”

A sea change is underway in the Vermont Senate. In the last election cycle, 10 senators opted not to run for reelection. And this year, Campion is the fifth longtime senator to announce his departure from the 30-member body.

Democratic Sens. Jane Kitchel, Dick Mazza, Bobby Starr and Dick McCormack have all recently announced they will not run for reelection. Like Campion, Kitchel, Mazza and Starr were all committee chairs, and generally considered to inhabit the more moderate wing of the party.

“Being an effective legislator requires working well with all of your colleagues, no matter their party, and I’m proud of having a reputation for doing this,” Campion wrote.

Campion took over the Senate Committee on Education in 2021, and in this role often clashed with public education advocates, particularly on matters relating to the state’s voucher system. He played a key role in the contentious confirmation process for now-interim Education Secretary Zoie Saunders — voting against most in his party to endorse her selection.

But he is also well known for his work on environmental issues. In a press release, Campion said he was particularly proud of his work on chemical contaminants, including addressing PFAs in Bennington’s drinking water. The lawmaker is also the architect of Vermont’s first-in-the-nation mandate to test every school for PCBs, another toxic chemical.

Sen. Phil Baruth, who leads the Senate as president pro tempore, in a statement highlighted Campion’s work on the environment.

“I happened to be with him when test results came back showing serious chemical contamination in Bennington’s drinking water,” Baruth wrote. “Brian rushed out of the room — and he and his district-mate Dick Sears didn’t slow down until the state of Vermont had helped connect affected well owners to the municipal water system. And mandated testing of private wells for contaminants. And pushed for the strictest lead standard for school drinking water in the nation — now Vermont law.”

Outside the Statehouse, Campion is the Director of Public Policy at the Elizabeth Coleman Center for the Advancement of Public Action at Bennington College and a trustee of the Bennington Museum.

Another well-known southern Vermont Democrat has already announced his intention to run for Campion’s seat. The Manchester Journal reported Monday that Rep. Seth Bongartz, of Manchester, had thrown his hat in the ring.

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Vermont

Outbound Hotels Will Soon Debut in Vermont | Hospitality Design

Published

20 hours ago

May 20, 2024

Press Room

Outbound Hotels Will Soon Debut in Vermont | Hospitality Design

Nature-centric lodging company Outbound Hotels has unveiled its latest addition in the picturesque landscape of Stowe, Vermont.

Following the success of its predecessors in Jackson Hole and Mammoth Lakes, the 73-key Outbound Stowe is situated on an expansive property that comprises the region’s largest outdoor pool. Accommodations range from suites and cabins to an eight-person cottage and a loft suite that transforms into an event barn.

Outbound Stowe celebrates New England design

Designed by One Union Studio, the hotel draws from New England design heritage, featuring a minimal exterior ornamentation and simple, utilitarian lines, complemented by Vermont woodworking traditions.

Evoking a wholesome, playful ambiance, interiors boast a vibrant-yet-balanced color palette, with primary colors like red, blue, and yellow paired with secondary greens and oranges.

Spaces also showcase the work of local artisans, with pieces rooted in the region’s heritage that lean into a cheerful, unexpected palette.

The hotel’s signature restaurant Eastside

Outbound Stowe also features Eastside, a bar and kitchen concept developed in partnership with Folkart Management. With its soft opening planned for late August, Eastside blends New York’s culinary scene with a laid-back mountain atmosphere.

“The expansion of Outbound Hotels into Stowe signifies the next phase in our mission to redefine alternative lodging, granting access to extraordinary outdoor destinations without compromising comfort or design,” says Matthew Mering, executive vice president, hospitality at Waterton, Outbound Hotels’ ownership group.

The soft opening of Outbound Stowe is scheduled for early July.

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Texas Wine Country Emerges as a Thriving Hotel Hub

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