Affordable housing and homelessness are hot topics in Vermont these days.
Vermont Governor Scott said in his State of the State speech earlier this month, that “Decades of studies and data show it’s too expensive, too complicated and too slow to buy, rehab and build in Vermont.”
The Governor continued, “Since March of 2020, we’ve invested over $500 million to fix vacant units, construct new homes and expand shelter capacity. This is unprecedented.”
Despite that expanded shelter capacity, we learned in December, “that the rate of homelessness in Vermont is 2nd highest in the U.S.”. That’s from the 2023 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
In his speech, Scott continued, “If we make commonsense improvements, we can give young families the decent, affordable homes they need. We can offer seniors a chance to enjoy retirement, without the burden of a large home they can’t afford. And we can put homeless Vermonters in real homes, not over-priced hotel rooms we can’t afford.
Scott said, “Housing is key, and it’s something we can do right now. So let’s work together and get more families in homes faster, and at a cost they can afford.”
I ask Governor Scott, what price can a homeless family afford? What do we do now, in Hardwick and more rural areas, where we have no motel since the summer flood washed most of it away. Even a motel voucher program won’t help here. What are homeless people and families in our area to do right now, today, before there’s a program to give them beautiful new houses?
Homelessness during a Vermont winter is not solved by creating affordable housing. It’s solved by creating warm and safe spaces where people can go immediately, no questions asked.
“Experts estimate there are 150 people experiencing homelessness in the Northeast Kingdom right now, and that number is expected to grow”, WCAX reported in September. They went on to say, “Because of the uptick, the town of St. Johnsbury and a few organizations are trying to make sure the unhoused have a place to go.”
The closest homeless shelter to most of our area, at Hyde Park’s Lamoille County House has just a handful of beds. NECKA in Newport has four beds. There are homeless shelters in Barre and Montpelier, but not enough room there for those in Washington County. The Tyler Blain House in Lancaster, New Hampshire has room for eight people. It’s obvious that we’re a long, long way from sheltering the 150 people estimated to be homeless in the NEK.
These are not just other people’s problems. Some of those homeless people are in our communities. Last summer people were living in abandoned buildings and camping in the woods behind the community garden at Hardwick’s Atkins Field. They were using books from the little free library attached to the nearby pavilion to cook and warm themselves. Young adults, who had set up a tent in the garage of a burned out and abandoned home across the river from Hardwick’s downtown, were evicted by the police.
Earlier this month VT Digger reported, “On April 1, hundreds of Vermonters are set to lose their shelter through the expanded pandemic-era version of the state’s motel housing program.” And, “The state’s human services agency is seeking $4 million in its midyear budget request to stand up five temporary shelters, but officials say they likely won’t be able to accommodate everyone exiting the motels at those sites.” Those five shelters are being planned for Rutland, Burlington, Central Vermont, Bennington, and Brattleboro.”
Those shelters are in high population areas. They aren’t going to help the homeless in our very rural area. How are we preparing to help them?
While the Governor suggested that creating affordable homes might house homeless families, it won’t, and, as a state we still have a problem with affordable homes. Residents in Greensboro are very concerned that their beloved Lakeview Elementary School is at risk because not enough families with children live in town.
Scott said, “So let me share three numbers from your Joint Fiscal Office that tell you everything you need to know: 14,000, 28,000 and 48,000. As of 2022, we have 14,000 fewer kids under the age of 18 than we did in 2010. During that same period, we have 28,000 fewer adults ages 40 to 54, which is the core of our workforce. And we have 48,000 more over the age of 65.
This is all within just 12 years, but this is nothing new. It’s been happening for decades.
Let that sink in for a moment.
As the JFO points out, this can mean higher per pupil costs…”
We can’t wait for the state to create affordable housing in our area if we want our schools to survive. How can our communities work together now on the challenges we face?
Creating affordable housing won’t end homelessness. Ending homelessness, if it’s even possible, won’t create affordable housing. Both are issues we can’t wait for the State of Vermont to solve for us. Let’s come together as communities to find solutions that work for us, right here, right now.
Paul Fixx. Interim Editor
