Vermont

Sexual violence support nonprofit HOPE Works celebrates 50 years

Published

2 years ago

April 25, 2024

Sexual violence support nonprofit HOPE Works celebrates 50 years

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

In 2022, Vermont law enforcement officials reported 233 incidents of rape and 238 related offenses to the FBI. Though because not all sexual assault crimes are reported, those figures are likely under-representative.

But survivors are not alone. For the past half-century, Burlington-based HOPE Works has provided counsel and resources to survivors of sexual violence. The nonprofit is celebrating its 50th anniversary this month.

Natania Carter is the executive director of HOPE Works, and she joined Vermont Public’s Jenn Jarecki to discuss the anniversary. This piece was produced for the ear. We highly recommend listening to the audio, if you’re able. We’ve also provided a written version.

Jenn Jarecki: 50 years is impressive. Talk to us about how HOPE Works first got started.

Natania Carter: Our founders were this group of women who literally took over a switchboard on the UVM campus and realized that there was a need for survivors to be able to call in. It was a switchboard that was around women’s health, and within that, there was nowhere for survivors of any type of sexual violence to speak up and have a space to just talk without their veracity being questioned. Even now, there are very few spaces where survivors can talk about one of their most vulnerable moments without it becoming about victim blaming, about safety planning, about what could have or could not have been done and how believable or truthful they are.

Nathaniel Wilson

Vermont Public

Natania Carter, the executive director of HOPE Works, located in Burlington.

Jenn Jarecki: I’m curious, Natania, what do you think, how has the landscape for the work that HOPE Works does changed in the last 50 years?

Natania Carter: I think a lot of education around consent has come through. I know it’s scary around these times because of so many rights being taken away from folks, our abilities to make decisions about our bodies — which is not only just gender — that moves across so many people trying to make the right decisions about their body in having to navigate other… I don’t know if I’m allowed to say this, I’m sorry, but other people’s ethical or moral beliefs.

But at the same time, what I will say is that education around consent — watching parents now literally tell people, ‘No, my 3-year-old does not want to hug you,’ it brightens my outlook on what comes next. We always fall into this idea that we have to teach the youth and the youth, but I’m like actually, prevention, education, consent really also is, it needs to be available for adults also, adults need to engage in these services because it is highly unlikely that we know everything that we should know when it comes to sustaining healthy relationships.

Jenn Jarecki: The past 50 years haven’t all gone smoothly for HOPE Works. In 2019, the entire eight person staff resigned over actions the board was considering taking with the organization’s land. Staffers posted online that it was part of a long-term effort to counteract intolerance, racism and homophobia among organization leaders. I’m hoping you can talk to us about the lasting impacts of those departures on the organization.

Natania Carter: All things can be true. So, here’s all the things that I can tell you I have observed. One, it really — for those who understood what they were standing up for, they still showed up for survivors even if it meant it was one person for more than a month holding down that hotline by themselves. And then honoring, doing my best to honor the sacrifice also at the same time of those who left. So, really working hard to prove that organizations — and it doesn’t matter if they’re nonprofit or municipalities, it doesn’t matter — trying to prove that dismantling white supremacist practices in organizations is possible. And though it won’t look the way that people want it to look, if we do it, though, then that means every single individual will be seen as a person and not as a cog for productivity purposes, meaning that we’ll be able to hold space for them when they’re struggling, and in our work, vicarious trauma is real.

Jenn Jarecki: Tonight marks the annual Take Back the Night event. Natania, can you tell us more about that?

HOPE Works is hosting their annual Take Back the Night event on April 25.

Natania Carter: Yes! This event is to stand with survivors. It happens every year, the fourth Thursday of April, Sexual Violence Awareness Month. We start out at the Royale Tyler Theatre on the UVM campus. At 5 o’clock we march down — well, they rally, and then they march down to City Hall, down Church Street, Contois [Auditorium]. And after that, around 6:30, we start a speak out, and people can show up as themselves. They can bring every part of themselves except their profession. They leave their profession at the door, because the only way to honor a survivor who may want to share their experiences is to honor their confidentiality, and we will escort people out if you bring your profession. But other than that, people who support survivors can come, survivors are welcome to come. And that is usually from 6:30 to 8:30 or until the candles blow out, basically. Until there’s no one — there’s nothing left for anyone to say.

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Vermont

Hour-by-hour: See when to expect steady snow Tuesday in Vermont, New York

Published

5 hours ago

April 7, 2026

Press Room

Roads will turn slippery mid-morning through mid-afternoon

Hour-by-hour: See when to expect steady snow Tuesday in Vermont, New York

Roads will turn slippery mid-morning through mid-afternoon

NBC5 meteorologists expect a burst of steady snow to arrive Tuesday morning in Vermont and northern New York, lasting through the early-mid afternoon. Deteriorating road conditions will lead to slow travel for several hours, with some improvement expected by the evening commute.Watch the video above to see the timeline for your area.

NBC5 meteorologists expect a burst of steady snow to arrive Tuesday morning in Vermont and northern New York, lasting through the early-mid afternoon.

Deteriorating road conditions will lead to slow travel for several hours, with some improvement expected by the evening commute.

Watch the video above to see the timeline for your area.

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Vermont

Magnificent 7: Must-See, Must-Do Events in and Around Vermont, April 8-15 | Seven Days

Published

17 hours ago

April 6, 2026

Press Room

Magnificent 7: Must-See, Must-Do Events in and Around Vermont, April 8-15 | Seven Days

Perfectly Seasoned

Sunday 12

You know TV personality Alton Brown as the quirky host of hit reality cooking shows such as “Iron Chef America” and “Cutthroat Kitchen.” Now the culinary commentator and author takes the stage solo at Rutland’s Paramount Theatre for a no-frills show of his talents, trading the glitz and glamour of Hollywood for a more intimate showcase of food science, humor and heart.

Girl Almighty

Friday 10

Diana Whitney Credit: Courtesy of Beowulf Sheehan

Queer author and educator Diana Whitney launches her patriarchy-smashing poetry collection, Girl Trouble, in conversation with fellow writer Eve Alexandra at Next Stage Arts in Putney. Listeners hear unflinching takes on growing up female, adolescent trauma, rape culture and modern movements of resilience before roaring onto the dance floor to channel the grit and grace of feminism.

Fun Facts

Thursday 9

It’s no surprise that we stan Local News Day (see page 13). Journalism leaders and advocates fill Montpelier’s Kellogg-Hubbard Library for a fact-forward fête celebrating the value of civic transparency and trusted community information. A documentary screening and a panel discussion explore media ecosystems and spur dialogue about how to sustain an essential public resource.

Role Models

Saturday 11

Scale model makers and Lego lovers connect at CAN-AM Con at Williston’s National Guard Armory, where seminars and vendors complement a display contest honoring late Japanese producer Shunsaku Tamiya. Junior builders and veterans show off their finest constructions from any Tamiya kit for consideration in categories such as Best of Class and People’s Choice.

Saturday 11

Disco Inferno

The Current — Stowe’s center for contemporary art — invites philanthropic partygoers to the Lodge at Spruce Peak for Gala ’54: After Hours. The annual fundraiser boasts silent and live auctions, a cocktail reception, and chef-crafted food stations, all inspired by New York City’s glamorous Studio 54 era. Then revelers hit the dance floor to boogie oogie oogie in their flashiest disco dress.

See gallery listing at sevendaysvt.com/art

Piste de Résistance

Saturday 11 & Sunday 12

Music and winter culture festival Gather Outdoors takes Stratton Mountain Resort by storm with a superlative lineup of jam bands and electronic artists, including Philadelphia legends the Disco Biscuits and rising star Karina Rykman. The high-energy mountainside affair fuses plein air recreation with an immersive club atmosphere for an unforgettable end to the ski season.

Reading the Room

Tuesday 14

Vermont poet laureate Bianca Stone continues her “State of Poetry” tour with a stop at Phoenix Books in Burlington. Stone leads an analytical deep dive into the craft of late Nobel Prize-winning writer — and the nation’s 12th poet laureate — Louise Glück, underscoring the vital cultural impact of her contributions to American literature.