RUTLAND, Vt. (WCAX) – Hundreds of homeless people are now eligible for 100 days of accommodation in Vermont hotels under the state’s newly expanded Emergency Housing Program, but can they get a room?
Under pressure from advocates – and expanded help from FEMA – the state announced last week it would open the doors to its hotel emergency program, but the state says there are at least six times more people in need of help than before the pandemic, at least some of the hotels that opened their doors last year are not ready to do so now.
A video on social media shows the condition of the Holiday Inn in Rutland as the hotel cleaned up of its participation in the state’s homeless hotel program. The hotel staff say the rooms suffered severe damage in the months the hotels paid state coupons for the lives of the homeless.
Renovations are also underway at the Quality Inn in Rutland. The owner of both hotels said he will not be accepting vouchers at the moment and is still working on a plan until next month.
“Please don’t bring people down here,” said Rutland Town Select Board chairwoman Mary Ashcroft. In a letter to Vermont DCF commissioner Sean Brown, she said the board had asked the state to reconsider a decision about housing the homeless at the Holiday Inn. Ashcroft says the city has denied the hotel an alcohol license and the hotel has become an increased liability for police. “We had to send police officers to answer the Holiday Inn about drug overdoses, suspicious activity, theft in the Green Mountain Plaza next door.”
The state rolled back the hotel program in July to revert to its pre-pandemic system of providing emergency vouchers during the worst winter weather conditions. This has resulted in proponents camping on the steps of the statehouse, putting pressure on the state to house up to 2,500 people without permanent shelter, at least while federal COVID resources are available. “We’re dropping Vermonters – the very vulnerable Vermonters,” said Brenda Siegel, the activist who led the protest.
The state twice extended the deadline for ending the program and then announced last week that it would open the emergency voucher program from November 22nd to March 1st next year regardless of weather conditions.
“It was a wonderful institution. It’s going in the wrong direction right now, ”said Ashcroft of the hotel. She says that people need somewhere to stay, especially when it gets cold, but that some of those who have stayed at the hotel need all-round services that the hotel doesn’t offer. “They shouldn’t just be stored somewhere. They should get the services they need to move into permanent housing for themselves and their families. “
While the new non-weather program begins on Monday, the adverse weather policy went into effect on Friday, so people will be accommodated that weekend. In an email, state officials said they found rooms for those who needed them this weekend.
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