This story, by Report for America corps member Carly Berlin, was produced through a partnership between VTDigger and Vermont Public.
Advocates for unhoused Vermonters pleaded with Gov. Phil Scott Tuesday to prevent from the state鈥檚 motel voucher program on July 1.
At a press conference on the Statehouse steps, a small group of advocates called on the Republican governor to extend 鈥� which allowed families with children and people with acute medical needs to remain in motel rooms. The order is set to expire June 30, and a spokesperson for Scott has indicated that he does not plan to continue it.
鈥淓very one of the people being exited is in a category that the governor himself has deemed would struggle to survive outside,鈥� said Brenda Siegel, executive director of End Homelessness Vermont. 鈥淭hese are people who are homebound, who require assistance from a wheelchair or walker to leave the house.鈥�
Scott signed the executive order in late March, days before the motel program鈥檚 loosened winter rules were set to expire for the season. At the time, lawmakers had sought a three-month extension for everyone sheltered in motels to head off a mass-eviction. Scott, a frequent critic of the motel program鈥檚 cost and effectiveness, opposed their effort, a midyear spending bill over the disagreement.
But he then to extend stays for a narrow group of people, writing at the time that 鈥渨e have an obligation to protect children and Vermonters who are most vulnerable.鈥� The order granted three-month extensions for families with children, pregnant people in their third trimester, and people who met specific medical criteria, like requiring home-based nursing services or receiving active cancer treatment.
The also stated that an 80-day cap on motel stays during the warmer months 鈥渟hall be waived鈥� between April and June for people sheltered in these priority groups 鈥渢o allow time for DCF to ensure鈥� they have access to services and supports needed to transition to a long-term housing, shelter or health care placement.
Many service providers interpreted that language to mean people sheltered under the executive order would not accrue days toward their 80-day limits, affording them more time in emergency housing after the order鈥檚 expiration. But the Department for Children and Families issued .
Advocates on Tuesday said the department鈥檚 move amounted to an abrupt change of course that has not allowed clients and service providers to adequately prepare.
鈥淲e are in the midst of a housing crisis. There鈥檚 nowhere for people to go,鈥� said Maryellen Griffin, a staff attorney with Vermont Legal Aid. 鈥淧eople will be camping in sidewalks, parks, river banks, empty lots.鈥�
DCF officials said last week that 348 households currently housed under the order will reach the end of their eligibility period if they don鈥檛 transition out of the motel program beforehand. A spokesperson said officials had 鈥渋ntensified efforts鈥� to support clients who were willing to accept the help, but declined to provide data on how many households they had helped ensure alternative accommodations for past June 30.
鈥淭he state has not made good on its promise to make sure that these months were used to make sure people could find long-term housing 鈥� in part because there is no long-term housing out there for many people,鈥� Griffin said.
Advocates declined to answer a question about whether they planned to take legal action against the state. Instead, Griffin encouraged individuals facing an impending eviction from the program to . Multiple people have done so, Griffin said, though none of the cases have been decided yet.
The emergency housing program has been defined in the last several years by tightening eligibility requirements and waves of mass evictions, as Scott and Democratic leaders in the Legislature have battled over how best to wind down its pandemic-era expansion. All the while, Vermont鈥檚 homeless population has ballooned, .
The coming exodus in July comes days after , a bill that would have devolved the motel voucher program next year and given funding and decision-making power over emergency shelter to regional, private nonprofits. Scott contended the legislation would 鈥渘ot adequately reduce the size or cost鈥� of the motel voucher program.
鈥淭he governor has presented no plan to end homelessness in Vermont,鈥� Griffin said. 鈥淎bruptly turning people out of emergency housing without a short-term or a long-term plan for where people should go is cruel and fiscally irresponsible.鈥�
