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By Michael Bielawski
A report summarizing Vermont’s homeless trends blames “our country’s long history of racist and exploitative laws and policies” when discussing the state’s homeless composition.
The 2024 Point-in-Time Count has come out with new nationwide data on homelessness. This part summarizes the scope of homelessness in Vermont.
“To give some perspective on how large of a problem this is, Vermont’s shelter providers can shelter approximately 550 households. To make up the majority of the gap, the State has used its General Assistance Emergency Housing program to shelter people in hotels and motels, but this program continues to face rollbacks,” it states.
It notes that black Vermonters are 5.6 times more likely to be homeless than whites and concludes that American racism is a major driver of the problem.
“And, because of our country’s long history of racist and exploitative laws and policies, many of which continue today, Black Vermonters are unhoused at a staggering rate compared to white Vermonters,” it states.
Another section adds, “From slavery through modern racist and exploitative policies that include regressive taxation, redlining, and the war on drugs, America has systematically exploited and denied the basic human rights of Black people.”
Authors include the Housing & Homelessness Alliance of Vermont, the Chittenden County Homeless Alliance, and the Vermont Balance of State Continuum of Care. These organizations are not state agencies, but are not-for-profit advocacy organizations.
Other concerning stats include, “3,458 – Number of unhoused people, representing an over 300% increase over pre-COVID levels (1,110 unhoused people in 2020).”
Another is, “166 – Number of people did not have access to emergency shelter, representing an over 21 percent increase over 2023 (137 unsheltered people in 2023).”
Hotel program a “failure”?
Republican Governor Phil Scott had some harsh analysis of the program in hindsight. He explained that once in the hotels, participants weren’t required to let other folks in including those trying to help them get jobs, get permanent housing, avoid drugs, and other help.
Scott says that an interim temporary shelter program – costing at least $3 million over a few months – is at least enabling them to engage with the participants.
The voucher program has not been a bargain for taxpayers. Reports indicate that some rooms were costing taxpayers about $130 per night, but the cost varies.
“Relentlessly challenging” year
According to a recent update by the Good Samaritan Haven homeless shelter in Barre, this has been a “relentlessly challenging” year.
“We’ve felt the effects of the end of the state motel program, another flood, rising numbers of unsheltered individuals, and an extreme shortage of affordable housing,” they write in the presser which came out on Monday. Operating a shelter network is relentlessly challenging. The emotional toll on our staff and guests is real,” their message states.
Turning folks away is always challenging. It states, “I hear the frustration in [Intake & Data Specialist Denise Goodwin’s] voice when she must tell a desperate person on the other end of the phone that there are no beds available in our shelters.”
Vermont’s hotel housing program has been wrapping up, the state is still investing $70 million this year. The program entails public money paid to the hotels to house those who would otherwise be homeless.
The message offers some encouragement.
“It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and discouraged, but as one Good Sam supporter shared, ‘With so much suffering in the world, I am countering my feelings of helplessness by offering tangible support to a tragedy closest to home,'” it states.
The author is a writer for the Vermont Daily Chronicle
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Categories: Housing
This dog and pony show will not end until all white people are homeless or forced to rent from their corporate landlord.
The real agendas are hidden. It will not end.
Poor Vermonters are strewn around our state like a bad yard sale, we are experiencing the exact same things as many in the inner cities, they just haven’t round us up and put us in one building, but that is coming.
Make no mistake the failed big city policies that enslaved our brothers and sisters in the cities is here and thriving in Vermont.
Montpelier is making bank keeping people poor and reliant on the state.
See all the big apartment complexes being built for rentals? It’s a major grift, making money of keeping Vermonter’s poor is a full-time job with benefits. They know exactly what they hell they are doing, it’s called subversion, it’s a military tactic that is very, very effective.
They have no power against Truth and Love, they are on the losing side of history, every time. TGBTG
Call me racist if you want but I have seen more white homeless people than anyone else and I have seen a LOT of homeless people.
No reference of democrats trapping black kids in fatherless homes and failing public schools?
standard practice in Vermont, part of the same playbook, just different people.
It would be valid to blame Vermont’s RESPONSE to homelessness and COVID for the INFLUX of people of all colors. Since Vermont has a disproportionately low number of Black individuals compared with the rest of the country, when you create attractive incentives for people in other areas to come here for the benefits, that will naturally increase the number of Persons of Color. The advocacy groups for the unsheltered in Vermont are liberal/progressive by nature and people of these ideologies tend to harbor a pathological, unhealthy obsession with race, and to use their own statistical manipulation to push for more money, using whatever arguments they can get away with to tug on heartstrings and pursestrings. The sick obsession with race is one reason the democrat party took such a well-deserved beating 3 weeks ago, and half of the party still wants to double down on it.
The authors of this “Report” are the racists and the democratic party are the ones at fault for this type of “reporting”.
Gosh, wouldn’t it be nice if I could blame all my troubles, my lack of wealth, respect, and prestige, on another race? I wouldn’t have to take responsibility for anything. If I’m struggling, it’s someone else’s fault.
You have wrapped in a nutshell the whole philosophy of the democrat party and the left in general for the last 20+ years…the oppressed/oppressor binary.
The more the Al Sharptons, Jesse Jacksons, and other race hustlers of the world continue to stir up hatred of whitey and strive to convince the perpetually “oppressed” that all their problems are the result of racism and white supremacy, the race war will rage on. Blacks and other minorities could succeed if their “leaders” emphasized their strengths, abilities, and potential rather than preach down at them about their victimhood at the hands of “racists.” Unless they can shake off those chains, they will always feel inferior.
Which exploitative laws against blacks still continue in Vermont today (or ever in Vermont)? How can a government make that racist ideological statement without any evidence? There are, however, increasing numbers of laws in Vermont that actually do discriminate based on race — very explicitly, favoring “marginalized” and “BIPOC” people above whites. That is by definition racist and unconstitutional — what did the bogus, racist Vermont-hating report have to say about that? I’m tired of paying morons to publish moronic reports that feign legitimacy. Time for some accountability — prove your claims, or admit you are a fraud!
It’s also time for Vermont laws to treat everyone equally.
Burlington is not v.t …yes .rasim does exist..in v.t.but the media make it a issue . because it makes news….why aren’t these fine young men / working to support them selfs..and be productive……maybe just maybe they don’t have to.in v.t….harsh yes .but facts just same…
What is the black to white ratio in VT? I believe VT is one of, if not the, “whitest” States in the Country? Stop making an issue where there isn’t one. Homelessness is enough!
Blah, blah, blah, I’m in Burlington twice per month doing outdoor service work in downtown, in the early morning hours. All I ever see for homeless is white, white, white most of whom appear to have fairly serious mental health issues; self inflicted or otherwise. Let’s talk about the percentage per total population of each group that might well be more telling. Most important though is, until Vermont stops shouting from the rooftops “come here we’ll take care of you” there’s no real way to quantify anything,
Given that until fairly recently the numbers of blacks in VT was quite low, that would seem to imply that most of the black homeless population are recent transplants, probably lured by benefits. Why in fact does no one ever research and publish the origin of the majority of the homeless, whatever race, in VT? Given that the leftists advocating for the homeless seem to consider everyone who steps foot over the VT line from another state to now be “a Vermonter “ that would be eye opening. I know for sure that people have been coming to VT from other states for a number of years because they were told we give away lots of stuff. And hey, if you were homeless in another state and you could come here and get free housing in a motel, food, health care and more, why wouldn’t you?
The “racist” grift and all other grifts are coming to an end. The last desperate gasps from the donkey tent signal weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth. Case in point, a wealthy Democrat donor opined the catastrophic waste and drunkard spending of $1 Billion only to have their hindends handed to them has many of the wealthy donors slamming their wallets shut. They too are done with the “progressive” brats, their innane messaging, and arrested development. James Carville strikes again!
JAMES CARVILLE: “The vice president was thinking about going on Joe Rogan’s show and a lot of the younger progressive staffers pitched a hissy fit. Supposedly the campaign said that wasn’t the determining factor, but they did.
When you put a campaign together and you hire young people to do work, let me tell you exactly what you tell these people, what I would tell them: “Not only am I not interested in your [bleep] opinion, I’m not even gonna call you by your name. You’re 23 years old. I don’t really give a [bleep] what you think.”
And let me tell you another huge error. People said, “Campaigns need to reflect progressive values.” No, they don’t! Campaigns are authoritarian by their nature. If I were running a 2028 campaign and I had some little snot-nosed 23-year-old saying they’re going to resign if I don’t do this. Not only would I fire that person on the spot, I would find out who hired them and fire that person on the spot.”
I agree, James. The blue dogs taking the toddlers to the woodshed is way overdue.
If I move to a country where I, as a white elder woman, am the one and only (think Gertrude Bell in the Middle East before WWII), welcomed and fetted, but the ‘token’ white woman, am I allowed to scream ‘racism’? (asking for a friend…)
…and oh btw… most of the homeless I see and interact with are…errrrrrmmm…not black… just sayin’…
Maybe this was brought to Vermont by out of staters (diversity).
https://stacker.com/vermont/counties-most-born-and-bred-residents-vermont
These “stats” sound the same as when the state conducted a study on police traffic stops of minorities and determined we must be racist after using “4 searches” in a total sample size of 27 to defund entire departments. I’m curious to see how many “black homeless” there are in this state after we remove all the East African refugees who didn’t have a choice about coming here. Much like Burlingtons gun violence rate, you’ll probably see it drops significantly….
Interesting that the caption for the photo with this article showing a black homeless man says, “not VT-specific.” Couldn’t find any local examples? Hmmmm.