Vermont advocates for fair housing and the unhoused are calling for the expansion of a seasonal emergency shelter program. But state leaders say the funding gets complicated.
From December through March, Vermont’s General Assistance Emergency Housing Program provides shelter during cold and snowy winter weather.
But, speaking at the Vermont State House this week, members of the ACLU of Vermont and other advocacy groups said the program should be expanded.
ACLU of VT Policy Advocate Alex Karambelas said the state is abdicating its responsibility to care for its vulnerable residents.
“This has now become a routine practice in the state of Vermont to mass exit our most vulnerable neighbors out of shelter and onto the streets each April, even when we can still see snow on the ground. Every year lawmakers are well aware of the impending deadline when cold weather rules will lift and folks who have reached their 80-day limit are pushed outside. And every year state lawmakers fail to provide a plan to keep our neighbors sheltered.”
Disability Rights Vermont staff attorney Laura Cushman said 25% of Vermonters are people with disabilities, but they comprise 67% of the state’s unhoused population. She wants to see action on long-term solutions.
“Without those long-term solutions we must demand that adequate short-term solutions remain in place. With the end of the adverse weather conditions exception, many people who have not applied or qualified for those protections will find themselves back on the streets without basic shelter.”
Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility Public Policy Manager Johanna de Graffenreid said state investment in housing initiatives in tandem with extended winter-weather protections would have far-reaching benefits.
“These are people, many of whom, already have jobs. It’s crucial that we continue to provide emergency assistance housing programs rather than unhousing hundreds of Vermonters every year, simultaneously crushing an already existing crisis.”
Vermont Interfaith Action deacon Beth Ann Maier said churches and communities have been doing what they can to fill the gap in services. She claims the state, for nearly a decade, has had no plan to meet the basic needs of the unhoused.
“The provisions the community could provide this winter didn’t come close to meeting the need. People will be exiting the hotels that have sheltered them through the winter with no options for shelter or housing. If this administration cannot give us a plan to meet this need at scale, it is time for change.”
Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican, was asked Wednesday during his weekly briefing about the call to extend cold weather shelters. Scott said the issue has been discussed for years, and shelters are intended to be temporary as people seek permanent housing.
“They view this not as emergency housing but as ongoing housing. We think, and we are progressing in this area, setting up more emergency shelters is the right approach. We have set up quite a number and there’s a number more that are going to be online shortly. So, I still believe that’s the right approach.”
The ACLU of Vermont is calling on the state to use $34 million in Medicaid funds this year to provide housing support for those with disabilities and an additional $35 million in 2027. But Human Services Secretary Jenney Samuelson said the $34 million covers the entirety of the state’s Medicaid program.
“It is possible in the future that we could look into using Medicaid funds for housing supports, but it is also unlikely that would continue past the existence of the current waiver. So the state needs to focus in the immediate term on more sustainable strategies like shelter development and strengthening connections to services that support long term housing options.”