FEMA AWARDS VERMONT ALMOST $6.6 MILLION FOR COVID SERVICES AND TREATMENT [https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20221201/fema-awards-vermont-almost-6-6-million-covid-services-and-treatment] Release Date: December 1, 2022 BOSTON – The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be sending nearly $6.6 million to the State of Vermont to reimburse the costs of providing services to the homeless population and antibody treatments to the general public during the COVID-19 pandemic. The $6,599,727 in Public Assistance grants will go to the Vermont Agency of Human Services for providing wraparound social services to homeless populations in non-congregate sheltering, and for providing monoclonal antibody treatment across the state. A grant of $3,731,539 will reimburse for services that supported non-congregate sheltering for Vermont’s at-risk population, including staffing to support intake, discharge, safety and/or management of non-congregate sheltering sites; provision of essential goods to meet basic needs; outreach, education, and wellness checks to households; access to health care screening and testing; and alternative isolation housing as needed. In addition, the state hired qualified staff to prevent and respond to emergent safety issues and/or crises onsite, and to help households at sites re-apply for General Assistance Emergency Housing benefits between December 2020 and March 2022. A second grant of $2,868,188 will reimburse AHS for contracting with Rescue, Inc. to provide monoclonal antibody treatment services to 1,104 patients. Three teams of five licensed EMS providers equipped with infusion and patient monitoring capabilities provided more than 10,000 hours of care between December 2021 and May 2022. “FEMA is pleased to be able to assist the Vermont Agency of Human Services with these costs,” said FEMA Region 1 Regional Administrator Lori Ehrlich. “Providing resources for our partners on the front lines of the pandemic fight is critical to their success, and our success as a nation.” FEMA’s Public Assistance program is an essential source of funding for states and communities recovering from a federally declared disaster or emergency. So far, FEMA has provided almost $430 million in grants to Vermont to reimburse the state for pandemic-related expenses.