Op/Ed

Letter to the editor: Hope and creativity needed to address housing crisis

“Hope is like a road in the country; there never was a road, but when many people walk on it, the road comes into existence…”

—Lin Yutang

Dear Community,

We are social service providers. Until things go wrong for you or someone you love, you might not know we exist. We are the people who make up the safety net in Addison County–we provide services that help people get food, clothes, shelter, and mental and physical health care when things get too hard to hold and start to fall apart. And right now, we helpers are asking for help for a community-wide problem that needs a community response.

We meet people in crisis and we walk the road with them, creating hope as we go.

But right now, we don’t know what to do.

We continue to offer outreach, services, and support to the growing community of homeless neighbors, but some of us are starting to wonder: what is the point of this when there is literally no room at the inn?

The housing crisis has now grown so big that we do not have any real options to offer people. For the last five years, during the pandemic and after, we had a band-aid solution of offering people shelter in hotels. These were expensive stays that were paid for by the state.

That was a short- term solution to a long-term problem of a housing shortage. For the last five years, while pouring money into this band-aid solution, no meaningful long-term solution has been pursued by the state. Now that the state government has decided to terminate the funding for hotel stays for most people, and has put clear caps on the availability of this funding even for those who are elderly, even for those with medical needs, even for families with children–and so, people are moving into cars, tents, and storage units.

What else can they do? There are no affordable houses or apartments or rooms or cot spaces to offer people.

We in the social services have been murmuring about this woefully among ourselves. It is clear that, on our own, we don’t have the resources or time to provide a solution. Providers are serving people every day. HOPE and CVOEO are working on case management and housing support. The shelters are providing safe places to rest and food for the hungry. But the shelters are full and their waitlists are growing.

What do people on a waitlist for shelter do? People who are living ‘on a waitlist’ have to be in ‘fight or flight’ mode. They can’t really get healthy and well and stable when every day is a question mark, when each night is a struggle to find warmth, food, and a safe place to rest.

So, now, we need more feet, more people to walk this road together, to build hope.

We need more help. The housing problem has outstripped the capacity of current service providers. This tragedy is happening now.

Unhoused people living in tents or in their cars need places to lock up their belongings safely while they move through their day and go to appointments and work. They need to make phone calls and get mail. They need laundry, places to go to the bathroom, places to shower, places to cook. They need to know where they can sleep, and have a place to throw trash. They often need a place to stay dry, and a place to get warm. They need to know they are our neighbors.

Our town has some enormously generous people and places where some of these needs are met. We are daily gratified and awed at the outpouring of love and gifts that people share when asked. But we need to ask for more, at every level of power, and to amplify that call to the top levels of our government.

Whoever you are, if you haven’t done something, I think you can do something.

• If you have resources, you can donate money to Charter House, to John Graham Housing & Services, to HOPE, and to Gather.

• If you have space to spare, you can rent a room or an in-law apartment at a reasonable rate.

• If you belong to a group, you can get together with your service organization, church, or business colleagues to highlight these crisis needs at Select board meetings or offer your power, resources, and energy to the members of the local Homelessness Taskforce.

• One thing we all have is a voice and a vote. Pressure our administration. Call on the state to step up and walk the road of hope. Ask the Governor and legislators to use the resources and power they have at their disposal to create a backbone of support and help for those who are subject to homelessness. Tell them to make it their priority to take care of and strengthen people by building homes people can afford to live in.

Ultimately, help in this crisis means creating more shelter. People are sleeping outside. It is getting colder every night. Ideally, new long-term affordable housing will be built—nothing solves homelessness like more homes! But it won’t happen if we don’t prioritize it, visualize it, and show it is important to us! Nothing will change if we don’t spark it! So in addition to joining the helping hands locally in any way you can, let’s pressure the state government for long-term solutions—with letters, calls, and votes.

The catalyst for this letter is distress and concern, but also is an invitation to be part of building hope. We show up, day after day, even when being close to the tragedy breaks our hearts, because at the same time it breaks our hearts, being here for each other is our best hope and deepest joy. If you come near and add your voice and hands, you will find this work is meaningful encouraging work! It is worthy and heartening. Please be with us, walk with us, as we create together the invisible road of hope.

Jennifer Stefani of Counseling Service, Addison County (CSAC)

Christopher Reck, John Graham Housing Services (JGHS)

Jackie Botala, CSAC

Jessica Lindert, CSAC

Eryn McElhaney, CSAC

Annie Ryan, CSAC

Lauren Ringey, CSAC

Mark Demers, Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO)

Katie Gillespie, CSAC

Annie Denny, Charter House Coalition (CHC)

Jennie Wright, CSAC

Kate Coburn, CSAC

Paulette Platero, CSAC

Lea Calderon-Guthe, CSAC

Dutch Lavallee, CSAC

Charity Eugair, CSAC

Bob Doran, CSAC

Laura Morse, CVOEO

Whitney Prouty, CHC

Bunny Lavallee, CSAC

Hope Downey, CSAC

Katy Thomas, CHC

Savanna Montoya, CHC

Blaine Ferris, CSAC

Chelsea Delisle, CHC

Dannielle Dupoise, CSAC

Danielle Wallace, Turning Point Center of Addison County (TPCAC)

Johny Widell, TPCAC

Ben Hastings, CSAC

Alison Robinson, TPCAC

Chip Mitiguy, TPCAC

Bob Donnis, TPCAC

Mary Simons

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