This article was written by Anna Huener of Burlington High School. It is the third story in a three-part series about the issues surrounding homelessness in 2020, from the Underground Workshop, VTDigger’s new platform for student journalism. Please check out the first and second installments.
Mark Bouchett, Operations Manager of Homeport, a local retailer, has worked on the Church Street Marketplace for 16 years.
After a period of lockdown in the spring of 2020 due to the coronavirus, Bouchett attempted to return Homeport’s Covid-hours to the store’s traditional summer schedule.
This change was met with objection.
“My staff came to me and said, ‘We’re not working evenings,’” Bouchett said.
The Covid-19 virus was not the reason for this declaration. Rather, the staff had experienced repeated threatening behavior while working on Church Street.
“I was regaled with story after story about how my crew was not comfortable working later in the evenings,” Bouchett said. “People were yelling at them; a few had been attacked.”
These incidents have been strongly associated with the homeless population on Church Street, whether or not they are to blame. Local business owners have sought solutions to this behavior in various ways. Businesses have been accused of criminalizing homelessness, while others have been placed on boycott lists.
The situation is complicated. What exactly is the problem? And how are local businesses taking it on?
Skylar Lobdell, Manager of Safety and Security at Burlington’s Outdoor Gear Exchange, explained that “public intoxication, open containers, aggressive behaviors towards people and issues like public urination and public defecation” had all taken place in and around the store.
“I’m talking about things like catcalling, obviously,” Lobdell said. “But, I’m also talking about some much more explicit words and gestures that are being used towards residents, tourists, and employees of Burlington.”
Harassment and aggression are not uncommon on Church Street. While most individuals sitting on the ground are quiet and respectful, certain groups frequently engage in illegal behavior. Despite the ordinances created to protect the marketplace, the problems persist.
Mark Bouchett, Homeport’s owner, complained that the current system was not effectively serving the marketplace.
“I have seen tickets just ripped up and thrown in the face of the officer,” Bouchett said. “ It just didn’t matter.”
Seeking a solution for repetitive behavior, Bouchett authored a letter to Vermont senators.
The main function of the letter was a request that multiple misdemeanor citations be turned into a criminal citation. The letter emphasizes that the signatories “are not concerned with a class of individuals here, or any individual for that matter”.
“However, we also believe that our staffs, which are composed largely of young women, have a right to walk to and from their jobs in safety and unharassed,” the letter stated. “We don’t think that citizens and visitors to our town, who often come with their children, ought to be subject to aggressive behavior or witness to people’s private bodily functions.”
The letter was publicized and sent to state senators with the signatures of various local businesses. Despite this support, the letter’s publication was met with community backlash.
On Sept. 16, an Instagram account under the handle @btv_copwatch called for a boycott of all the signatory businesses, referencing a section of the letter referring to sleeping or camping in both private and public spaces. The post listed 31 “Church St. businesses [that] seek to further criminalize houselessness + poverty.”
Kiss the Cook, a Church Street bakeware and kitchen shop, was included on this list, much to the frustration of owner Luke Wight.
“A couple [of] people on our team here who saw [the letter] focused on the harder issues there that they deal with on a day-to-day basis, like harassment, theft and assault,” Wight said. “I think they got swept up in that and signed it not thinking about the totality of everything that was being implied and suggested.”
Wight had no personal affiliation with the letter and immediately removed Kiss the Cook from the list of signatory businesses. Instead, Wight authored his own statement, which was also sent to state senators.
“Homelessness, poverty, and the occupation of public spaces are not criminal offenses,” the statement says. “Completely separate are the issues of harassment, unsolicited sexual advances, theft and desecration of property.”
Wight’s statement addressed the problem of misbehavior, and emphasized a need for aid. Unlike Homeport’s original letter, Wight looked to the state Legislature for a solution.
“I sell kitchen gadgets, and products that are silly,” Wight said. “I am happy to engage in conversations about solutions and I’m happy to be part of coming up with solutions, but I don’t think that I’m qualified to offer [one].”
Skylar Lobdell of The Outdoor Gear Exchange agreed that the issues of homelessness and harassment are entirely separate. Despite his ambivalence towards Bochett’s letter, Lobdell did agree with the need to further enforce multiple citations.
“I think that the intention behind that letter is not to criminalize homelessness,” Lobdell said. “It’s just to criminalize some behaviors, which are problematic, and some of them are, honestly, criminal.”
The three businesses agree on the existence of a problem, but take different approaches in going forward.
Despite Bouchett’s letter urging criminal citations, he agrees that any progress would be good for the marketplace. His main priority is to protect his employees.
“I don’t care what it is, I just want my staff to get to and from their jobs safely, and I want people not to poop on the various storefronts,” Bouchett said, laughing.
Bouchett aims to restore Church Street to the marketplace it has the potential to be: a safe place for customers and employees, and a community that offers resources to all.
“All of those things will be an improvement,” Bouchett said. “That’s what we’re looking for.”
Luke Wight of Kiss the Cook emphasized that while safety on Church Street is important, it is crucial to delicately address these problems.
“The issues that we’re talking about are really complex,” Wight said. “How we deal with homelessness and how we deal with harassment aren’t the same conversation.”
