By Carla Occaso – Republished from the August 21 Montpelier Bridge
Why should they move and where should they go?
That was the predominant question during Montpelier’s Aug. 14 City Council meeting concerning a tent encampment created by about a dozen unhoused people that has been increasing in size since the former Elks Club shelter closed May 29. City officials said they are asking, not forcing, those people to move out following some disturbing incidents. However, at least one of those at the camp says he isn’t going anywhere.
Encampment dweller Derek Malbroux, who said he had been arrested earlier in the week, told council members neither he nor the remaining encampment dwellers were willing to leave because of the bad acts of someone else.
“It is really sad that we have people here trying to make something of their lives and it is really hard to do that when we keep getting grouped in with the criminalistic behavior of some of our unhoused community members,” he said. “I’ve spoken with everyone at camp and I think everyone has made up their mind that they are not going to move.”
Malbroux said they want to avoid conflict and just want to stay at the site until October, when the shelter reopens.
“Then everyone will pack up and you will never hear from it again,” Malbroux said.
Malbroux said he comes from a military family and served from 2013 to 2015 with the U.S. Army National Guard at Louisiana’s Camp Beauregard as a member of the 773rd battalion doing water rescue.
“I am one of the campers up there and I have been on a hunger strike just as a way for me to vent — to do something for myself,” he said. “I come from Louisiana. Growing up there we had to fight every single day. I am trying to unlearn a bunch of behaviors because I realize I don’t have to fight anymore. I have a community that will look out for me and the hunger strike was a way for me to assert my rights without allowing me to fall victim to my own temper.”
Malbroux said further that he is willing to work at the site. He said he would go around and pick up trash and maintain the site. He said he volunteers at the community garden and wants to take part in his community.
The Bridge caught up with Malbroux at Shaw’s on Aug. 19. He said he had ended his hunger strike after four days, but still maintains neither he nor the others camping at Country Club Road encampment are willing to leave because they were told by the people “at Good Sam” they could camp on the site until October. Also, he said he appreciates the community support he has been getting, including deliveries of food and water. He also said he would appreciate it if people join in when he and his group are holding vigils, which are held at “no set time” in front of city hall.
People camping at the city’s Country Club Road property had been encouraged to move during the week of Aug. 12 when “no camping” signs were posted. The perceived eviction attracted a crowd of people to the city council meeting waiting in line to speak up — mostly in support of the homeless campers.
The encampment has been allowed by the city throughout the summer, according to City Manager Bill Fraser, who said the city “looked the other way” and let people with nowhere else to go camp on the city-owned property. However, several at the meeting spoke of an individual who moved in and caused trouble, creating problems for everyone at the site. Other incidents followed, which prompted city staff to post signs stating “No camping High Sensitivity area.”
That wording ties directly to the encampment policy adopted by the council in 2021, which states, “The City of Montpelier and its staff shall take a general non-involvement approach to any found emergency sleeping camp sites, with the particular lens of not criminalizing people creating shelter due to a lack of housing. Staff will intervene and ask encampments to relocate if they are found in ‘high-sensitivity areas’ meeting specific health and safety criteria as outlined in this policy.”
The policy further states that, rather than arresting people for trespassing, staff members will offer to connect people with shelters and services if they have nowhere else to go. The person who had been causing the most trouble was brought to the hospital for mental health treatment.
Police Chief Eric Nordenson said the problem evolved when a couple of people started camping out at the Country Club Road property, followed by six more, and then around 12 to 15 people as others from all over the state heard about the encampment. Part of the issue arose because a crisis clinician was helping the unhoused by giving them tents and directing them to the Country Club Road site, Nordensen said, but that has since stopped.
On Aug. 13, the Montpelier Police Department responded to an incident at the encampmment involving two people, one from Colchester and one from Milton.
“We are not just dealing with the local folks. It has become a magnet for people from outside our area,” Nordenson said. “We’ve had waves of people here.”
However, Nordenson said he has been actively trying to get unhoused people “out of the woods.”
He described a recent conversation with Gov. Phil Scott on the topic. “I interrupted the governor. I said, ‘I need a building!’,” Nordenson said, recounting how he told the governor that if he gets a building, the city will figure out how to staff it and manage it. “We have to deal with the behavior in the woods right now. It is growing,” Nordenson said.
While the encampment policy allows camping on city-owned property for people without alternative shelter, City Manager Bill Fraser said no place in town is specifically designated for camping, but people are managing to find enclaves. And when the groups get too big, it becomes difficult for law enforcement to manage. Conflicts have arisen on the bike path and other places.
Still, Fraser said police are not going to go in and forcibly drag people off the site.
“They are not being evicted. They are more or less illegally trespassing. There have been some illegal behaviors. We believe we have followed the response policy,” Fraser said.
Steven Whitaker suggested putting a cluster of huts on the property that would shelter and warm the unhoused. He also called for bringing in a trailer with toilets and showers. And he criticized the city council for allowing a group to organize disc golf on the property if it is not also suitable for encampments after declaring the property a highly sensitive area.
Carlton Anderson, a former Planning Commission member and one- time mayoral candidate, said he is currently couchsurfing and has been home insecure since the age of 17. He urged the council to take action on the homelessness situation.
A person introducing themselves as ‘Kiah, Cam, or Eddie,’ said homeless people are our neighbors and deserve respect. Rhonna Gable, who ran the Elks Club winter shelter for Good Samaritan Haven, said she has been visiting the encampment and bringing water throughout the summer. Gable asked for names and dates of incidents so she could help get people the services they need.
“On October 1st we will move people inside. If people are ‘no trespassed’ from a site, then it will be difficult,” Gable said regarding a possible consequence by law enforcement to people who refuse to leave the encampment. “What are the next steps if people choose not to move?” This question was not answered during the meeting except for Fraser saying he would work with people to help them find a better location. However, Gable said the people at Country Club Road have been offered other locations and “they decline to go.”
A person introducing herself as Tanya said people aren’t being evicted but they are being displaced. Fraser said when the groups go from smaller to larger, it gets dangerous. Valerie Coolidge then told the city council of her experience as a homeless person in Montpelier.
“We hear ‘Vermont Strong’ and ‘Neighbor Helping Neighbor’ and it is only for the privileged,” Coolidge said.
“People are being displaced from their own communities. These are our neighbors. They are living homeless, going to school homeless, and we are shoving them into the woods — or not allowing them into the woods,” Coolidge said.
She suggested helping people who are homeless navigate practical solutions like setting up a mailbox and filling out paperwork. Others spoke out along similar lines, saying homeless people need support and housing.
Mayor Jack McCullough said creating new buildings takes time, but that the city is working toward putting 300 to 400 new units of housing on the Country Club Road property. The city has filed a growth center application, which will allow the city to start getting funds in order to install infrastructure. Fraser pointed to the housing created in recent years such as the apartments above the transit center and Aubuchon Hardware.
Councilor Adrienne Gil suggested merging the efforts of the Homelessness Task Force and the Housing Committee to come up with solutions. Councilor Lauren Hierl said she wanted to make sure the city isn’t criminalizing homelessness and that she wants a person with the state to help get the money to train unhoused people for jobs.
Julie Bond, co-executive director of Good Samaritan Haven, said there is “compassion fatigue” out there and that creating housing and shelters takes time. However, shelter is needed immediately, she said. No action was taken by the city council.
In other business, the council approved an amended purchasing policy as presented by Finance Director Sarah Lacroix and further amended by council member Cary Brown. The crux of the amendment is to make the purchasing process more flexible, such as when not enough bids come in for a project, or if city staff members think all the bids are too high, the city can reach out to companies that might work out better. The goal is to “update finance policies given that we will have an influx of federal funds with FEMA,” LaCroix said. Brown asked to include a reference to the responsible employer ordinance to the policy. Council member Tim Heney said he would rather not see the responsible employer ordinance included since it was supposed to be part of future discussion. He was outvoted.
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