September 24, 2026

Sep 24

Join VAAP @ 9/25 VHRC Civil Rights Summit

Vermont Asylum Assistance Project is a legal services and technical assistance organization that exists to mentor no-cost and low-cost immigration lawyers and legal workers; educate and serve VT immigrants and community members; maximize impact across sectors; and advocate to protect immigrants’ rights. Join us: www.vaapvt.org.

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JOIN US AT THE HRC SUMMIT 9/25

👀 Peep VAAP's Civil Rights Summit schedule

The second annual VT Human Rights Commission Civil Rights Summit is this week! Whether in person or online, join VAAP as we reflect with partners on advocacy wins, service strategy, and lessons learned for the year ahead. Be part of the conversation. Share feedback. Get involved. And, if you’re there in person Friday night, stay for the afterparty! Lots of outstanding programming to choose from. Check out VAAP director Jill Martin Diaz's conference plan, below.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25

9:35–10:45 AM | Coalitions of the Winning: Effective Cross-Sector Organizing for Civil Rights. ⭐ Come see VAAP! Jill joins Xusana Davis and Falko Schilling for a conversation about what we’re learning, and unlearning, about building coalitions that can share strategy, power, accountability, and resources across organizations and movements.

11:00 AM–12:30 PM | Our Bodies, Our Rights: Equitable Healthcare Access in Vermont. Healthcare access, disability justice, bodily autonomy, harm reduction, and the barriers Vermonters still face in receiving equitable care.

1:30–2:45 PM | Expanding Protections: Equal Rights in Vermont and What We Need to Ensure Them. A look at Vermont’s existing civil rights framework, gaps in protection, and tools for strengthening enforcement.

3:00–4:15 PM | Regional HRC Directors’ Roundtable. Hear from Human Rights Commission leaders from Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts, and Connecticut about using state commissions to address both individual discrimination and systemic problems.

4:30–5:45 PM | Session Confessions: What It Really Takes to Pass (or Kill) a Bill. An advocate, organizer, and legislator compare notes on how legislative advocacy actually works in practice.

Afterparty | Civil Rights on Friday Nights: Networking, Snacks & Cocktails, and a free show by Vermont comedians. Come say hi to VAAP! Joy is resistance!

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26

9:30–10:45 AM | Hands Up, Don’t Shoot: Police Use of Force in Vermont and the Need for Community Oversight. Data, recent cases, community oversight, and alternatives to current policing approaches.

11:00 AM–12:15 PM | Tools to Rebuild, Hope for Repair: Restorative Practices in Vermont. What restorative practice looks like across schools, government, and communities, including where it works and where practice can fall short of the promise.

1:30–2:45 PM | Statehouse Report: Looking Back, Looking Ahead. Take stock of the 2025–26 biennium and look ahead to the civil-rights issues likely to return to the Statehouse next session.

3:00–4:15 PM | No Hate, No Fear, Immigrants Are Welcome Here.⭐ VAAP is back on stage! Erin Jacobsen joins Migrant Justice and ACLU of Vermont to review the past year in immigration policy and advocacy in Vermont and discuss issues expected to be part of the next legislative session.

4:30–5:45 PM | Policy vs. Practice: Hazing, Harassment, Bullying, and the Narratives for Change Project. Youth, families, educators, and advocates examine the gap between anti-bullying protections on paper and students’ experiences in practice.

⛰️Come find us or listen in from home!

We’re excited for a couple of days with friends and partners across Vermont: taking stock of what we’ve learned, comparing notes across movements, thinking about what we want to do differently next, and making space to decompress together. Come for one session or make a weekend of it. Ask questions. Push our thinking. Tell us what we’re missing. And please, please come hang out Friday night. See you there!

Learn more and register at bit.ly/VTCivilRights2026
Catch up on last year's summit at Publications | Human Rights Commission