With just 94 shelter beds available for more than 220 people living outside in central Vermont, local service providers are scrambling to arrange emergency winter shelter for those who are excluded from the state’s hotel/motel program. In addition, Good Samaritan Haven is collecting outdoor gear for those who will continue to camp outside after winter arrives, and an interfaith group in Montpelier is planning an extreme cold weather shelter again this year to open only when temperatures dip below 10 degrees Fahrenheit.
Good Samaritan Haven Executive Director Julie Bond said in an email to The Bridge that, as of their most recent count, there are 32 unsheltered people in Berlin, 40 in Barre City, and 43 in Montpelier. Bond said she does not know how many of them will be able to enter the state’s hotel/motel program under its winter weather exception, which begins Dec. 1, but that number will be “certainly less than in previous years.”
“It’s important to note that for the first time ever in our community, we are supporting more people who are unsheltered outdoors than there are shelter beds in the county,” Bond said.
Bond said “Good Sam,” as the nonprofit that provides emergency assistance to those experiencing homelessness is known, had proposed a winter overflow model to the state that involved using a block of hotel rooms along with intensive case management and stabilization services for residents. However, the state is prioritizing funding brick-and-mortar shelters, which Bond said Good Sam supports. But this means that the proposed overflow program will go unfunded this year.
“While we respect that decision and understand the financial pressures on the broader system, it does represent a reduction in services compared to prior years,” she said.
Shelter, or lack thereof, aside, Good Sam’s street outreach team continues to engage with those who are living outdoors in central Vermont, providing cold weather tents and other survival gear, essential supplies, food and water, peer support, case management, and assistance finding housing.
Good Sam has also launched a winter survival gear drive, created by University of Vermont students.
“Still,” Bond said, “tents are not shelter, and the fact that we must collect such materials to keep people alive through winter underscores the urgency of long-term solutions.”
Describing the situation as “bleak,” Elizabeth Parker, property manager at Christ Episcopal Church in Montpelier, has started a letter-writing campaign to Washington County legislators asking them to make more hotel rooms available, she said.
Those who are unsheltered and camping outdoors have been evicted from Hubbard Park, the Elks Club, and Confluence Park, said Parker. So, Christ Episcopal Church opened its parking lot to campers and approximately 25 have passed through since August, she said, adding that currently the church parking lot hosts seven campers. Once the snow starts to fall, Parker said, Christ Church will no longer be able to host campers in its parking lot, because of the need for plowing.
All of those currently camping behind Christ Church are eligible for the hotel/motel program, but they can’t get into rooms locally because past alleged behaviors have landed them on a “do not rent” list, according to an email from Beth Ann Maier, regional deacon at Christ Church. Maier also noted in her email that she plans to reach out to the hotels to “start a conversation” to see if allowances can be made.
Along with others, Maier has formed a state nonprofit Montpelier Emergency Cold Weather Shelter. Hosted by the Unitarian Church of Montpelier, at 130 Main Street, and operated by volunteers, the shelter has space for 15 people overnight, but only opens when the temperature drops below ten degrees Fahrenheit. Last winter, Maier said in an email to The Bridge, the shelter opened for 45 nights based on that criterion.
The new extreme emergency shelter nonprofit recently received a $32,000 grant from the Vermont Interfaith Alliance for start-up and operational costs.
Because the state is prioritizing year-round shelters, Maier said she is also working to replace the 25-bed “overflow” shelter Good Sam operated at the former Elks Club on Country Club Road, a city-owned property. The old Vermont Liquor Control Board building on Green Mountain Drive (adjacent to the bike path) was one option but, according to Maier, it is approved for just 10 beds.
Reflecting a shift toward “pragmatic, community-based solutions,” Bond described programs that address the causes of unsheltered homelessness such as Good Sam’s “Alcohol Harm Reduction and Detox” pilot program, developed with local partners.
“By integrating harm reduction and detox supports into the homelessness response system, we’re helping individuals stabilize their health and access shelter for the first time in years,” she said.
Bond said Good Sam is also working with central Vermont municipalities, faith communities, and residents to launch the “Scattered Site Parking Pilot.” The goal: offer safe, long-term parking spots for people living in their cars, supported by Good Sam’s outreach team.
Bond said creating the conditions for stability helps people stay connected to services and prevents the development of large encampments. Good Sam staff members, Bond said, also spend “many hours each week” assisting those who seek to enter the state’s hotel/motel program.
These initiatives, Bond said, can reduce the need for emergency overflow shelter and help more people move toward long-term stability.
