By Carly Berlin
Editor’s note: This story, by Report for America corps member Carly Berlin, was produced through a partnership between VTDigger and Vermont Public.
Nearly 100 Vermont legislators and Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman called for Gov. Phil Scott to intervene on a mass wave of evictions currently underway from the state’s motel voucher program for people experiencing homelessness.
“These are the most vulnerable people, and there’s nowhere for them to go unless we do something,” said Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky, P/D-Chittenden Central, in an interview last week.
Vyhovsky was one of 91 lawmakers who signed onto a letter Oct. 1 demanding action from the Republican governor. Specifically, the group of Democratic, Progressive and independent legislators have called on Scott to immediately stand up emergency shelters and ensure the hundreds of people exiting motels and hotels know of their existence and have transportation to get to them. They also called on Scott to declare a state of emergency to unlock additional spending power, echoing an earlier call from advocates and service providers.
Vyhovsky stressed that emergency shelters should be “non-congregate,” giving those exiting the motels — including families with kids and people with complex disabilities — ample space and privacy. That would be a stark change from the last time the state set up temporary shelters, during a prior round of evictions from the motel program in March, with cots lined up in large open rooms. But, like that time, Vyhovsky suggested state buildings should be looked at as options, and added that municipalities should be consulted on possible vacant or unused structures.
Vyhovsky voted against the legislation that has resulted in the current round of motel program evictions, anticipating it would cause many people to lose their shelter, she said. But many of her fellow signatories voted for it, and some were even architects of the policy at hand.
The current mass exodus is the result of new limitations passed by lawmakers in this year’s budget, which Scott signed, though earlier in the session his administration advocated for narrower rules. A new 1,100 cap on the number of rooms available through the program took effect in mid-September, as did a new 80-day limit on motel stays. The Legislature budgeted $44 million for the program this fiscal year; the new limits were intended to rein in costs.
