Homeless Issues in Vermont

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Created on Thursday, 12 March 2015 20:36

Written by Katrina Floranza

VERMONT- Last year's Point in Time Count for Vermont revealed that 1,556 people were counted as homeless. In the last two years, Vermont's homeless population has doubled. Homeless advocates are trying to decrease the number of homeless individuals within the state. However, the lack of shelters in the area and state budget problems are factors they have to work around.

Raising awareness to the homeless population in the state is the stepping-stone when trying to solve this growing issue. Rural Edge in Lyndonville is just one of many non-profit organizations that help the homeless. Their Annual Homeless Vigil took place this past Friday, March 6th. "The overnight Homeless Vigil is our major awareness event," explains Dan Haycook, Community Engagement Specialist, "Homelessness is a huge issue in the Northeast Kingdom. It's one that a lot of people don't recognize, because we have what we call, 'Hidden Homeless.' What that means is that they're either sleeping in ATM booths, vacant buildings, or they're couch surfing."

Sam Klepper, Assistant Manager at Helping Other People Everyday (H.O.P.E.), agrees with the homeless issue. "There's a lot of people who are couch surfing... There are a lot of new people that are coming in homeless. Especially now that it's winter time, it's everyday that I see people coming in," says Klepper, "I know of homeless families that are children and they're sleeping in tents and... it's rough... but..."

Klepper knows how rough it can be, because she was once homeless in her life. The topic of homelessness is one that she says is very "near and dear" to her. "I think it's hard for people to understand just how helpless you feel when you end up homeless. It's not always a cycle that you choose and it's a very difficult cycle to crawl out of, you really have to have a lot of help to get out of it," she explains.

Like Klepper, Jamie Robertson, a Lyndon State College Student, also experienced what it was like going through homelessness in his life back when he lived in Indiana as a child. Though he has gotten out of the cycle that Klepper talks about, the idea of being homeless again still pops up once in a while. "That's one of my biggest concerns as someone who's about to graduate and didn't really line up a job in my major... This isn't like Indiana, if I become homeless, I better find a place to live come September before I freeze to death out here," Robertson says.

Freezing to death does become a big concern, especially during the winter season in Vermont. Robertson adds, "That seems to be the biggest issue. Thinking about being homeless in Vermont, that be the last thing I would want... is to have to go through winter, homeless. You know, what do you do? You spend an hour outside and you're like 'yeah, okay... that's good enough.'"

It's not hard to see what the winter season puts the homeless through. Haycook expresses, "It's bitterly cold out there and it's not a welcoming environment to be outdoors all day everyday."

The state has an Emergency Housing Service that offers a Cold Exemption Program. The program means that whenever temperatures reach below 20 degrees, the state will put those in need of shelter into a local motel within their area. "Often, the state has to turn to motels, because there's nothing else available," explains Representative Tommy Walz, D- Barre.

Representative Walz is currently looking into the state motel lodging budgets, especially in his town of Barre after hearing that Barre is one of the most expensive towns when it comes to lodging those in need. According to Represenative Walz, motels in the Barre area are asking for $80 a night from the state.

"I asked them [the state] to provide me with data on what hotels they were using and what they [hotels] were charging the state... I haven't received information on the pricing I requested yet," Representative Walz continues, "I've done some unscientific research, because I found it hard to believe the average motel costs $80 a night for emergency housing. I did go online and I couldn't find many of the hotels in the Barre area online, but I found some through their own website and Expedia, and I got a rate. Some of them were as low as $57 a night... $61, $65, $69... But not $80." Representative Walz is still looking to receive the information he requested in order to find out which hotels are charging this amount, "We're facing really bad budget problems and trying to figure out how on Earth are we going to balance our budget, but if we are paying more than we should be, well, there you go."

Budget issues for the state are not the only thing standing in the way to helping decrease the homeless count in Vermont. There's also the lack of homeless shelters.

"The real issue in the Northeast Kingdom is that we don't have any shelters. It would be saving the state dollars if we could get a shelter open, because the hotels are pricey and it is difficult to find space as well," Haycook says.

The problem with the shortage of shelters is not only the fact that there need to be more options in the area for homeless individuals, but the shortage of shelters means there is a wait list due to shelter occupancy. Jeanne Montross, Executive Director of Helping Overcome Poverty Everyday, explains, "That's when you see people moving in between counties, because one shelter might be maxed out. It can be quite the challenge."

Currently, there are only five shelters total in Vermont. Montross adds, "They're finally going to get one started in Burlington. We need one in Rutland, we need more of those creative options."

Montross believes these shelters are a key asset for the homeless, "In Middlebury, we started a warming shelter that this winter is full every night. Those people used to be out on the streets or in hotel rooms, now, we have this option."

An option like a warming shelter was about to come to the town of St. Johnsbury, however, due to select board members and community residents, the idea received some pushback.

Haycook believes this pushback is due to the "stigma" attached to homeless individuals, "Unfortunately, there is a stigma attached to homelessness. People refer to them as 'those people.' They're not 'those people,' they're your neighbors, community members, people who have lost their job and in result, lost their home."

"People need to understand that housing is the number one priority," Haycook says, "If we could get people in stable housing, they would be able to focus on getting everything else in line to be successful."