As Vermont Chills and Houselessness Rises, Legislators Struggle to Protect the Vulnerable
Gabriela P. Peterson, Staff Editor
November 22, 2024
Houselessness, commonly called homelessness, is on the rise in Vermont. Vermont has the second highest per-capita rate of houselessness in the country, behind only California.[2] Houselessness in Vermont increased by 151% from 2020 to 2022, the largest percentage increase of all the states.[3] Mental illness and addiction are the most prevalent challenges faced by people experiencing housing insecurity and houselessness.[4] Vermonters experience higher than average rates of addiction disorder and disability.[5] External factors causing houselessness in Vermont include the rising cost of living, a housing shortage, and natural disasters.[6]
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Vermont used federal funds to implement the Vermont General Assistance Housing Program, which provided emergency motel housing program for people experiencing houselessness.[7] People who met eligibility requirements could receive vouchers to stay in vacant hotels.[8] As quickly as the summer of 2021, Vermont Governor Phil Scott began phasing out the program in anticipation of the program becoming financially unsustainable once federal funds disappeared.[9]
In July 2024, the Vermont legislature’s Act 133 introduced a cap on the number of rooms and limited residents to an 80 day stay.[10] Is 80 days enough time for someone to save up money from a minimum wage job to afford a security deposit on an apartment, a month’s rent for the apartment, and transportation costs from a new apartment to their job, all while living in a motel and trying to afford exorbitant Vermont food prices? Nevermind for an individual, imagine trying to save up for all of these expenses as a parent of multiple children, too.
Trying to track down all of the changes the program underwent over the past few years is dizzying. But what is even more dizzying is trying to find housing among frequent changes to the eligibility requirements, time limits on staying in the motel rooms, and caps on the number of rooms. Each new restriction drives hundreds of people out of the motel rooms.[11] People phased out of the program and who can no longer live in the motel rooms have these options: live in their personal vehicle, stay with family or friends, camp out in a tent, live on the street, or find an emergency shelter.
Even though the state forced an estimated 1,000 people to leave their motel rooms between September and October, those same people will be eligible again for motel housing once again starting on December 1.[12] In the winter months, the cap on the number of rooms available and the eighty day stay limit will disappear.[13] Municipalities and the state are opening shelters to accommodate people displaced by the phasing out of the motel program.[14] For example, the state is opening two shelters in Waterbury that can house 17 families.[15] It is doubtful, however, that the upcoming shelters can house all of Vermont’s houseless population. Even the motel program was insufficient; people who did not use up their eighty days were still denied access to a motel room because of a lack of space.[16] People may hesitate to reapply for a motel program voucher. Caution could stem from all of the recent dehumanizing changes within the program, like forcing people out of housing in October only to let them back in in December.[17]
Vermont’s solutions to houselessness have dehumanizing undertones. In the transition from the motel program to shelters, the state fails to adequately inform motel program participants about the shelters, provide transportation provided to the sites, and provide basic amenities like showers and storage space.[18] For the new shelters in Waterbury, families must undergo an intake process to be admitted.[19] There appears to be no publicly available criteria for what this intake process consists of, which is worrisome. By what standard would a houseless family be more deserving of housing than another houseless family?
Another problem with Vermont’s motel program is the shadiness happening behind the scenes. For example, a motel owner improperly withheld $3,300 of security deposits per occupant.[20] These deposits were supposed to be given to motel room occupants who stayed in the motel room program for at least four months and left their rooms in good condition.[21] The motel owner, who operates five of the motels involved in the motel program, is supposed to pay back the improperly withheld security deposits.[22] So now, instead of getting the financial relief these unhoused people desperately needed when they left the motel, they were robbed of the money they were entitled to and potentially remain in financial distress. To get the wrongfully withheld money, unhoused people have to work with the Attorney General’s office, adding to the stress of being unhoused.[23]
In sum, the Vermont General Assistance Housing Program is constantly embroiled in a frenzy of sudden changes that make finding housing even more chaotic for people experiencing houselessness. The state needs to find ways to protect people accessing the motel program from wrongdoing and stop imposing arbitrary time limits and room limits. Should the state completely phase out the motel program, the shelters acting as a replacement for the program must be accessible and provide basic amenities to promote the dignity of unhoused people in Vermont.
[1] Scott Kerman, Homeless, Houseless, and Unhoused: A Glossary of Terms Used to Talk About Homelessness, Blanchet House, https://blanchethouse.org/homeless-houseless-unhoused-glossary-about-homelessness/; Liam Elder-Connors, Homelessness in Vermont has Increased—And Towns are Responding Differently to the Problem, Vermont Public (November 3, 2023, 5:00 AM), https://www.vermontpublic.org/local-news/2023-11-03/homelessness-in-vermont-has-increased-and-towns-are-responding-differently-to-the-problem.
[2] Tanya de Sousa et al., HUD 2022 Ann. Homelessness Assessment Rep. (AHAR) to Cong. pt. 1, at 16.
[3] Id. at 18.
[4] Kerman, supra note 1.
[5] Leslie Black-Plumeau, Vermont’s 2025-2029 Housing Needs Assessment Completed, Vermont Housing Finance Agency (September 5, 2024), https://vhfa.org/news/blog/vermonts-2025-2029-housing-needs-assessment-completed.
[6] 2024 Legislative Priorities, Housing and Homelessness Alliance of Vermont, https://helpingtohousevt.org/advocacy/#:~:text=Vermont%E2%80%99s%20housing%20and%20homelessness%20crisis%20is%20the%20result,and%20stigmatize%20people%20who%20use%20drugs%29%2C%20and%20more (last visited November 1, 2024); Lisa Rathke, Vermont Caps Emergency Motel Housing for Homeless, Forcing Many to Leave This Month, AP (September 19, 2024, 11:37 AM), https://apnews.com/article/homelessness-vermont-motels-31da28d4e53a4157005056894a34c07d#.
[7] Lola Duffort, Democratic Leaders Say They Support Expanding Motel Homeless Program, vt digger (November 1, 2021, 8:54 PM), https://vtdigger.org/2021/11/01/democratic-leaders-say-they-support-expanding-motel-homeless-program/.
[8] Id.
[9] Id.; Rathke, supra note 6.
[10] Yunier Martinez, Vermont’s Hotel-Motel Program Sets New Maximum Room Limit, NBC 5 (September 17, 2024, 11:42 AM), https://www.mynbc5.com/article/vermont-hotel-motel-program-new-room-limit/62233810; Rathke, supra note 6.
[11] Duffort, supra note 7.
[12] Vermont is Opening Two Emergency Family Shelters, And Planning a Third, Associated Press (October 31, 2024), https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/vermont-is-opening-two-emergency-family-shelters-and-planning-a-third/ar-AA1tirnp?ocid=BingNewsSerp.
[13] Carly Berlin, In Compromise, Budget Panel Agrees to New Limits on Motel Housing Program, Vermont Public (May 7, 2024, 8:02 PM), https://www.vermontpublic.org/local-news/2024-05-07/in-compromise-budget-panel-agrees-to-new-limits-on-motel-housing-program.
[14] Associated Press, supra note 12.
[15] Id.
[16] Rathke, supra note 6.
[17] Associated Press, supra note 12; Carly Berlin, ‘A Slight Sigh of Relief’: State Officials Say Motel Rate Cap Won’t Displace Residents, Vermont Public (March 1, 2024, 5:39 PM), https://www.vermontpublic.org/local-news/2024-03-01/a-slight-sigh-of-relief-state-officials-say-motel-rate-cap-wont-displace-residents.
[18] Carly Berlin, State Says Temporary Homeless Shelters Cost $50K a Night, Vermont Public (March 20, 2024, 5:23 PM), https://www.vermontpublic.org/local-news/2024-03-20/state-says-temporary-homeless-shelters-cost-50k-a-night.
[19] Associated Press, supra note 12.
[20] Liam Elder-Connors, More Than 300 Former Motel Residents to Receive Improperly Withheld Security Deposit, Vermont Public (January 24, 2024, 4:10 PM), https://www.vermontpublic.org/local-news/2024-01-24/more-than-300-former-motel-residents-to-receive-improperly-withheld-security-deposit.
[21] Id.
[22] Id.
[23] Id.