Middlebury gathering to honor county unhoused

On Homelessness Awareness Day this coming Tuesday, May 6, the Addison County Housing Coalition will mark the occasion with a special event on the Middlebury town green, from 7:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

His wife scurried to collect their things as her half-asleep, disheveled partner hollered at the authorities who had come to “move them along” from their encampment under a bridge.

After just reading the January 16 issue of the Addison Independent, I am struck by two articles. One is about the Middlebury Police Department letting people sleep on the floor of their station when they have nowhere to go.

Frigid temperatures and the recent removal of Middlebury’s largest encampment behind the Ilsley Library has temporarily made homelessness more of an unseen problem in the county’s shire town. So where did the folks go?

The charitable organization Helping Overcome Poverty’s Effects, or HOPE, this fall was asked to help a growing number of houseless folks who’ve temporarily settled in the shire town, either at the Charter House Emergency Shelter or at makeshift campsites … (read more)

The document will guide the community in regulating the makeshift campsites that houseless individuals have been creating and using for shelter — primarily in the downtown and greater village areas — during the warmer months of the year.

Good progress. That’s an apt reflection of the town of Middlebury’s effort to manage its relatively small, and mostly cooperative, houseless population. 

At a recent meeting with colleagues, in which we were discussing how to engage a broader audience regarding services to unhoused people in our area, one person uttered the words “public safety.” This provoked strong reactions from the others.

I pull up to the stoplight, and there she is, standing with her cardboard sign — HOMELESS. ANYTHING HELPS – looking hopefully to each driver. It’s morning. By afternoon will she still be hopeful? Her eyes are tired, her hair unkempt, her coat too thick fo … (read more)

These are all real people with individual histories like those of us with homes. In other words, they are people, not “problems.”

A recent spike in Middlebury’s houseless population is prompting a renewed sense of urgency among town officials to enact an “encampment policy” to delineate which parts of the community’s public property should be off limits for overnight, outdoor stays.

That Middlebury’s houseless population has become more problematic is an outcome of doing too little for too long. The issue has been recognizable for several years but came to a head a year ago when downtown vandalism and disruption prompted two dozen do … (read more)

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?

It is not compassionate to have people exposed to the elements. It is not freedom to be allowed to take drugs; drug addicts are slaves to their addiction.

On behalf of the Addison County Housing Coalition, I am writing to let you know about changes in the State of Vermont General Assistance program for people who are currently unhoused in our county.