Burlington, Vermont’s new mayor recently held the fifth in a series of public forums on community safety. The latest focused on homelessness and mental health and how city and private groups can address the problem. It came after city business owners called on the mayor and City Council to do more.
Within the past few weeks, more than 100 Burlington business owners signed a letter calling on the Vermont city’s Progressive Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak and the City Council to address violent incidents and rising crime downtown. While the council passed a resolution 8-4 last month in support of the businesses – the measure includes a provision to move away from downtown a program that provides lunch to the unhoused -- the mayor subsequently asked the City Council to reconsider.
That disagreement about how to handle services to the city’s unhoused population formed the backdrop of the latest in a series of forums on public safety in Burlington.
During the safety forum Mayor Mulvaney-Stanak noted that relations between business and homeless advocates have soured significantly.
“I know that we all care deeply about our local businesses and the health and well-being of our downtown. I also know that people in Burlington live here because of the values we all share around human dignity, around the needs for people to meet their basic needs, around the value of mutual aid, especially coming out of the of the pandemic, and that we have so much of that in common, and we hold that even when we are in disagreement,” Mulvaney-Stanak said. “And so we're in a moment of some disagreement and some heated energies in the city. And again, I hope we will continue to find a path towards better understanding, compromise, solutions that really bring people together.”
Department of Public Works Director Chapin Spencer said his department is helping advance conversations between downtown businesses and the food service providers.
“Our interest at public works is to find a safe and more hygienic place to offer this service to the public,” Spencer noted. “It is an important service and a garage is a difficult space without plumbing, positioned immediately next to a drive lane, etc.”
The city is launching a new pilot called the Situation Table that Mulvaney-Stanak says will bring partners together to jointly address those who are causing harm or are in high need or high risk 508
“I'm really hopeful that this will start to create some new ways of accountability, but intensive and relentless support and intervention when necessary for folks who really need that level that we've not been able to do before,” Mulvaney-Stanak explained.
Part of the reimagined response is the Burlington Police Department’s five Community Support Liaisons that respond to calls that do not require armed officers. Community Support Supervisor Anna Wageling explained the CSL’s can help with follow up services after anyone has contact with the police department.
“The types of calls that we go to, we go to welfare checks. We can take threats and harassment calls. We respond after domestic disturbances. We help with restraining order applications, no stalking applications,” Wageling described. “The situation table, as the mayor mentioned, is really important. We need to break down the silos of communication. That's our main goal and that's why we're really excited about the Situation Table, is that we can come together and truly take a holistic and proactive approach, or reactive approach, to supporting people, because it's really hard to communicate with how things are set up now.”
The community response is meant to build on longstanding efforts in the community. Howard Center Street Outreach Team Leader Tammy Boudah (“Buddha”) noted the team started responding to people in need of services in the greater downtown area in 1999.
“We go out into the community, as we always have, to check in with people, to see how people are doing and we respond to emergency responses. So that's when we go out with the police and respond in the moment. So similar to what the CSLs do but more targeted kind of acute response that we're able to give a lot of the times, in addition to the day-to-day needs,” Boudah said. “The Situation Table, that's going to help us because there's a lot of us out there and I think we do spin our wheels sometimes. And I think this will be able to help us be more intentional and focused and serve the people that we're trying to help much more efficiently and effectively.”
Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity Executive Director Paul Dragon said his group provides short- and long-term assistance through ten different programs.
“What we're seeing more and more are people who are homeless who also have mental health and co-occurring substance use disorders. And we are seeing a lot of people with chronic medical conditions. We are seeing an aging demographic. About 26% of the people who are experiencing homelessness are 55 years and older. And we have a lot of racial disparities,” Dragon reported. “You know, in lieu of housing as that comes online with our partners, we have to think a little bit differently about the way we maximize our resources and streamline our services. I would love to see an integrated service center for people experiencing homelessness, a one stop shop where we're all working together to get people stabilized and then to eventually get them housed.”
Prior community safety forums discussed hate and bias incidents, substance use and bail issues.
