Community members listen to speeches during Rutland Neighbors’ inaugural Winter Sleep Out event on March 20 at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Rutland. Photo by Ethan Prospere
Via Community News Service, a VTSU-Castleton internship, for Rutland Herald
RUTLAND — Upon entering Good Shepherd Lutheran Church on March 20, a warm sense of community and hope for the future could be felt immediately by all who walked through the door.
Rutland Neighbors hosted its inaugural Winter Sleep Out event, bringing in dozens of community members to spend the night outside in the church parking lot.
“When I came into the room, I thought I was coming to Thanksgiving dinner. It smelled like Thanksgiving dinner in here, and some big family was here,” Rutland City Alderman William Gillam said.
Slow-cookers of soup, light snacks, refreshments, volunteers and the evening’s speakers packed the entry hall of Good Shepherd.
Jen Yukanovich, board president for Rutland Neighbors and development director at NewStory Center, shared her opening remarks to the crowd.
“For many of us in this room, this is definitely out of our comfort zone. We were watching the weather all week, and I was going, ‘Oh no, I gotta sleep out in the rain.’ I then had to check myself and recognize my privilege in that,” she said.
Good Shepherd Pastor Patti Stratton shared the story of how she became familiar with what was then Comfort Zone and Faith on Foot. She said that Rev. John Longworth, formerly of Good Shepherd, and former Rev. Hannah Sotak, of the Rutland United Methodist Church, were out in the community finding and helping homeless neighbors in the community and providing them care.
“I feel an even deeper connection now to Rutland Neighbors because of the history, watching it unfold and grow from the beginning, and now being called to help steward this partner in that ministry who has such a history,” she said.
Longworth, now with the Committee on Temporary Shelter in Burlington, shared a message from Sotak, who was unable to attend.
“Tonight, you who are gathered are choosing to love your neighbors by bringing awareness to the suffering that is homelessness. You love your neighbor by choosing the pain and discomfort of sleeping out in the cold, so that you may experience what others cannot walk away from in the morning. You are choosing to be neighbors to anyone who asks what you’re doing, even if they don’t understand,” he read.
Longworth said in 2025, 27% of Rutland County’s population were renters. They would have to make $24.17 an hour and work 69 hours per week to afford a market rate two-bedroom apartment, he said.
“There were 645 people in the Coordinated Entry count in Rutland County, and of those 645 people, 1,023 disabling conditions. More disabled conditions than people,” he said.
Pam Reed, superintendent of Rutland City Public Schools, shared that 7% of the city’s children are homeless.
“Food insecurity and unstable housing are not distant problems. They’re barriers. They shape childhoods, and they shape futures. A child who doesn’t know where their next meal will come from or who moves from place to place is more likely to miss school, arrive hungry, struggle to concentrate and fall behind academically,” she said.
Reed said that she hopes the sleep-out will bring a renewed commitment that every child in Rutland sleeps warm, eats well, and can learn and thrive.
Mieshau Phillips is on the Outreach Care Team at Rutland Mental Health. She shared her experiences about her time being homeless, and now being able to help others who were in her shoes.
She said she’s now able to be a voice for those individuals and can support them by giving them basic necessities, kindness and hope.
“They are human beings. They are mothers and sons and daughters and parents, and they have spirits. They have hopes and dreams. They just need somebody to believe in them. I’m grateful that people believed in me,” she said.
Rutland Mayor Tom Donahue, who was previously CEO of BROC Community Action, said the nonprofit opened a 10-bed shelter during his tenure. The shelter, which was fit with showers and laundry facilities, helped those in need transition into more stable living environments.
“The foundation of a great community is only as strong as how we treat our most vulnerable people. I really believe that this is a community that does that. In fact, what Rutland Neighbors and all of you are doing every day, and what you’re doing tonight, absolutely is a testimony that this foundation is strong. We have a great community,” he said.
Before community members settled in for the night, Rutland Neighbors executive director Ellie McGarry, shared some closing remarks.
“At Rutland Neighbors, we believe in meeting people where they are, inspiring love and acceptance, and building a community where everyone belongs,” she said. “For tonight, let this be more than an event. Let it be a moment that stays with you, let it deepen your understanding. Let it strengthen your compassion.”
McGarry said before the evening began, donations for the event exceeded $18,000.
“This is what community looks like. This is what it means to be neighbors,” she said.