MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – Anti-poverty advocates in Vermont are launching a grassroots campaign to get low-income people to the polls in November.
The Vermont ‘Poor People’s Campaign’ rallied at the Statehouse Tuesday. It’s part of a national movement to address health, housing, and wage disparities that advocates say lead to unequal outcomes and higher mortality rates for lower-income individuals. They say eliminating poverty involves investments in those areas, as well as environmental justice issues like climate change.
“Too many families are falling off the cliff and the status quo won’t right this boat. Our people are hurting and we won’t be silent anymore,” said Rev. Beth Ann Maier with Vermont Interfaith Action
The campaign, which began in 1968 with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., is planning marches at 30 statehouses around the country — including Vermont — on March 2.