by Guy Page
A group of current and former legislators who have worked on housing issues (former Sens. Illuzzi, Will Hunter, Jim Leddy, current Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky and Rep. Kate Logan) will hold a press event Monday 10:30 AM at Delta Hotel, 1117 Williston Road, South Burlington to request Gov. Phil Scott declare a state of emergency regarding the homelessness crisis.
They also will suggest some short-term solutions that should be promptly considered and enacted. The proposals (seen below) do not include shelving the state’s official ‘Housing First’ policy that does not require recipients to address the problems that contributed to their homelessness in return for housing assistance. Nor does it address concerns that increasing Vermont’s ‘safety net’ for homeless people will make the state a magnet for out-of-state unhoused or underhoused people.
A State of Emergency – such as was declared during the Covid pandemic and recent flooding – potentially unlocks funding and gives a governor more latitude of action.
According to the unofficial ‘Point In Time’ headcount of homeless people on January 24, 2024, there were 3,458 unhoused Vermonters in a single night, including 737 children and 646 Vermonters 55 years old or older. Vermont’s shelter providers can shelter about 550 households, a Housing and Homelessness Alliance Council of Vermont report said.
A homelessness emergency declaration has been done by one state (Hawaii) and several communities across America.
The group will also ask the 2025 General Assembly to address the homelessness crisis on the same level as it is expected to do regarding property tax relief and growing the economy — because, they say, you can’t have the first two without the third.
The current and former lawmakers say the crisis is having a negative impact on the health and welfare of the homeless, up to and including death, and diverting more and more state and local tax dollars to support spending with no long-term solutions in sight.
The group claims the homelessness crisis also affects state and regional spending, overall economic health, the state’s criminal and restorative justice system, schools, and mental health providers, among others.
While declaring homelessness a state of emergency is a relatively recent approach, overall, the one state and several communities across America have used the declarations to take urgently needed action and prioritize development of long-term solutions,” the press statement issued by Illuzzi – the Essex County state’s attorney, lobbyist for the Vermont State Employees’ Association, and a longtime state senator – said.
The group on Monday will propose:
- Keeping open and available state and regional emergency resources for the homeless such as at the Coordinated Entry Program at the Springfield Supported Housing Program in Springfield, which recently announced a one week closure.
- Reduce regulatory barriers, such as bypassing zoning requirements, which will allowed for a quicker ability to use state, city and privately owned property to open and maintain shelters;
- Suspend statutes and rules for the purpose of facilitating coordination between different programs with different jurisdictional requirements, funding streams and goals;
- Suspend statutes and rules for contracting with private and non-profit providers for homeless services;
- Redirect funds and foster interagency collaboration;
- Determine the amount of funding needed to urgently expand emergency shelter for various unhoused populations;
- Provide financial assistance to local churches, non-profits and civic groups to among other things create small clusters of modest, private soft shelters located walking distance to hot showers and flush toilets as those groups often can do more with less;
Since bonding for a permanent solution means status quo for at least two more years, community mental health agencies need to have an open case and open door for all in their area who have been determined to have a mental disability.
The group also proposes:
- An aggressive launch of recovery houses for people who need stable support to keep on track and away from addiction;
- The state Department of Corrections rethink its “disastrous decision’ of a few years ago to abandon most group transitional housing programs, closing down the Phoenix House, RISE program and others.
- Repurposing state building space for supportive transitional housing managed by Vermont-based non profits, including existing regional community action agencies. State offices are in every region of the state, and many state offices are underutilized at this time, providing an emergency, quality solution that can happen quickly.
- End “silo thinking” by the state, designated agencies, non-profits and vendors as evidenced by the recent decision by Valley Vista in Bradford and Vergennes to deny residential treatment to patients on methadone because the state would not fund a solution to the daily cost of transportation to a methadone clinic.
This story includes excerpts from a press statement emailed to VDC this morning by former Sen. Illuzzi.