Two days before Mary and Jerry Gomes were found dead in their Montpelier home, Mary reached out to Washington County Mental Health Services for help, according to a new lawsuit. The complaint, filed by the couple’s daughter Mariah, says Mary called the agency several times on Nov. 13, 2024, warning that her son Matthew was showing the same signs he showed before he assaulted her in February 2023. The suit claims no one was sent to check on him.

A separate lawsuit from a former agency employee goes further. It alleges the mother’s calls were never even logged, and that failing to send anyone out went against best practices.

Matthew Gomes, 31, is charged with two counts of aggravated murder in his parents’ deaths and has pleaded not guilty. Both lawsuits are still pending, and the agency’s CEO has said she stands behind her staff. But the family’s attorney, Celeste Laramie, told Vermont Public the agency “completely failed the entire family.”

Families are often the first to see a mental health crisis building. When they pick up the phone, that warning should never vanish. Vermont needs clear rules to make sure it doesn’t.

The Vermont Legislature and Governor Phil Scott should pass a law requiring every designated mental health agency to log every crisis call from a family member and send a trained crisis worker to follow up when a caller reports escalating symptoms. Lawmakers should also fund mobile crisis teams around the clock in every county, so help can actually reach people in time. The Vermont Department of Mental Health should order an independent review of how these calls were handled and share the results with the public.

Experts note that people living with mental illness are more likely to be harmed by violence than to cause it. A strong crisis response protects patients and families alike.

Sign the petition to make sure the next Vermont family that calls for help gets an answer before it’s too late.