Vermont Advocates Urge Governor Scott to Take Immediate Action to Address Mass Unsheltering

Yesterday, advocates, business leaders, and shelter and service providers from across Vermont hosted a press conference calling for urgent action from the Governor to address the loss of emergency shelter for Vermont’s most vulnerable unhoused residents in the coming days.

The end of the General Assistance (GA) Emergency Housing Program’s winter weather protections on March 31 will leave hundreds of vulnerable Vermonters without shelter, exacerbating a crisis that is already at a breaking point. Advocates call on the Governor to take immediate steps to ensure safe, accessible, and non-congregate emergency shelter for the state’s most vulnerable residents. These include seniors, families with children, people with disabilities, and those fleeing domestic violence.

“Today, our fellow Vermonters are being sent to live outside,” said Brenda Siegel, Executive Director of End Homelessness Vermont. “This includes people on oxygen, people in wheelchairs, and people who have late-stage cancer. It includes people who have extremely complex needs. This is aging Vermonters and Veterans. This includes hundreds of children, sent to live outside for the rest of the school year. These are the same people that last year the Governor said that we must protect. Yet, here we are. This is a policy choice that leaves our neighbors and community members with nowhere to go and to suffer the most catastrophic of consequences."

As the 80-day and 1,100-night caps on the GA program are reinstated, the state’s shelter system is already at capacity. Last year, Governor Scott’s Executive Order No. 03-25 at least allowed a narrowly defined group of vulnerable unhoused Vermonters to stay sheltered. This year, no action has been taken to protect shelter access for Vermont’s most vulnerable unhoused neighbors.

“Here we are again. We are choosing to exit people onto our streets into a world where there is not enough housing or support,” said Ken Russell, Executive Director of Another Way. “We are exiting our most vulnerable people, folks with hopes and dreams, folks with acute medical needs, folks with families, folks who need food, clothing, and shelter. Here at Another Way, we help people who have fallen through the cracks; once again, these cracks are made by policies made in this seat of government. Our state can and must do better.”

With finding affordable and safe housing becoming an increasing problem even for Vermonters with wealth, expert analysis confirms that the underlying cause of Vermont's housing crisis is the severe shortage of homes affordable to low-income residents. Evidence-based solutions rooted in a comprehensive, statewide strategy could include investing in the construction of permanent affordable housing, rehabilitating existing properties, and expanding rental assistance programs.

Stated Chad Simmons, Executive Director of the Housing and Homelessness Alliance of Vermont, "Everybody deserves to live in an affordable, safe home. At this moment, there simply are not enough homes for people across Vermont. It is the responsibility of the state to ensure that people are safe and sheltered. We urge the Governor to use all the resources of state government to keep people sheltered until permanent housing can be found and to prevent more suffering from occurring."

For decades, the GA Program has been a critical lifeline for individuals and families experiencing homelessness, providing them with access to emergency housing during times of crisis. The program has kept people housed for periods of time despite the sheer lack of affordable housing in the state, but the current budget proposal would continue to impose maximum night and room caps, threatening the well-being of the most vulnerable residents of Vermont.

“People in wheelchairs, people with toddlers to keep safe, people receiving cancer treatment, elders with diminished strength and ability—these are the people who will be turned out on the street with no options for shelter or housing on April 1st" said Rev. Beth Ann Maier, deacon at Christ Episcopal Church in Montpelier. “Have we lost all sense of collective compassion and mutual care?”

As Vermont continues to deal with an ongoing housing shortage, the need for emergency housing has only grown. Reducing or capping available funding would put thousands of people at risk of living on the streets, in cars, or in unsafe and overcrowded conditions.

“People are being pushed out the door into a rental market that has no room for them and shelters that are already full. The Governor has no plan for where people should go,” said Maryellen Griffin, Staff Attorney with Vermont Legal Aid.

Added Laura Cushman, Staff Attorney with Disability Rights Vermont: “Housing stability is essential for people with disabilities, and for our system of care. Without housing, people with disabilities run a greater risk of reliance on emergency services, worsening health outcomes, and of institutionalization, all of which come at a much greater cost to our community than simply keeping people housed.”

“The data is clear: Nationally, 38% of domestic violence survivors will experience homelessness in their lifetime, and 92% of women experiencing homelessness have a history of physical or sexual abuse. This instability ripples outward, affecting their children and entire family. In fact, domestic violence is one of the leading causes of childhood homelessness in the U.S. Ending hotel and motel access abruptly doesn't just disrupt lives; it creates a vacuum of safety,” said Katarina Lisaius, Advocacy and Organizing Manager, VT Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence.

“Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility urges Governor Scott to support funding programs to shelter unhoused Vermonters and financing housing initiatives to address the ongoing housing crisis by building the 40,000 housing units that Vermont needs by 2030—not only to provide for our most vulnerable but to invest in the long-term health and prosperity of Vermont’s economy. Housing Vermonters is the right thing to do and is fundamental to our state’s businesses and economic success,” said VBSR Public Policy Manager Johanna de Graffenreid.

“When programs that provide life-saving services are continually subjected to arbitrary limitations in order to meet an arbitrary bottom line—despite costing our communities more and being completely out of step with the actual needs of our communities—the people they serve become political bargaining chips and suffer in the process,” said Alex Karambelas, Policy Advocate at the ACLU of Vermont. “The people of Vermont broadly agree that we need humane, long-term solutions to the state’s housing crisis—and continued shelter for those most vulnerable in the meantime.”

The ACLU is interested in hearing from people who are currently in the GA program or who were recently unsheltered. Please contact Jessica Radbord at 802-251-6554.

An audio recording of the press conference is available here.