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Keeping your community covered. We're committed to producing high-quality, fact-based news and information that gives you the facts in this community we call home. If our work has helped you stay informed, take action, or feel more connected to Windham County – please give now to help us reach our goal of raising $150,000 by December 31st.

BRATTLEBORO

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View 7-day forecast

Weather sponsored by

Keeping your community covered. Please help us reach our year-end goal.

Donate Now

Keeping your community covered. We're committed to producing high-quality, fact-based news and information that gives you the facts in this community we call home. If our work has helped you stay informed, take action, or feel more connected to Windham County – please give now to help us reach our goal of raising $150,000 by December 31st.

Margaret Wimberger

Mental health matters

Leland & Gray is trying to eliminate the position of the in-school social worker. This change would be a grave and dangerous mistake.

Between 2000 and 2015, depression among Americans aged 12-17 rose four times faster than among anyone else in the population, according to a study from Columbia University.

Between 2009 and 2015, attempted suicides, drug overdoses, cutting, and other types of self-injury have increased substantially in U.S. girls, with the sharpest increase among those aged 10 to 14. That rate nearly tripled from 2009 to 2015, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

In Vermont, calls to the state's Child Protection Line continue to increase each year - by 29 percent since FY 2013. In FY 2016, the state's Family Services division of the Department for Children and Families received a record 21,142 reports of suspected child abuse or neglect and initiated 5,536 child safety interventions: 3,074 assessments and 2,462 investigations.

Opiate addiction continues to be a factor affecting children's safety in Vermont. One of the consequences is a substantial increase in the number of children in DCF custody, from 982 in FFY 2013 to 1,323 in FFY 2016.

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