This commentary is by Joey Corcoran of Burlington, a participant in Vermont Interfaith Action.
“I think we should be doing everything possible to make a gracious place of shelter for every person regardless of their circumstances,” said Martha Penzer, who lives in Burlington’s North End and is a longtime volunteer at Small Potatoes.
As a participant in Vermont Interfaith Action and a Burlington resident, I agree and support the proposed shelter pods to be located at Elmwood Avenue. Here’s why.
Difficult circumstances can befall any one of us. One woman I spoke with recently ended up homeless after she was raped in her own home, here, in Chittenden County. The Burlington shelter pods will allow people with trauma histories to inhabit single-occupancy rooms with a lockable door, unlike accommodations in some shelters that offer bunk rooms with multiple people sharing the same room.
People with trauma histories need, above all, a sense of safety. They need to be able to find shelter where they already have community and social service connections, including relationships with medical care. This will contribute to them being good neighbors.
I appreciate that the city has chosen a central location. Many homeless people don’t own cars. On a cold, rainy evening, I encountered a homeless woman who regularly had to walk 2 miles back to her hotel from her underpaid job. Another woman was evicted when friends she allowed to stay with her wouldn’t leave, and the landlord threw her out. Now she’s staying at different places till she can find housing. She takes a bus to work at a janitorial service. The job doesn’t pay enough to cover her expenses, let alone rent in Burlington.
The shelter pods will provide stable housing on an accessible site until a person can transition to a more permanent alternative.
The Community Resource Center will be a vital part of the shelter pod site. I visited the Center recently and was struck by the sense of community there. People greeted each other, were treated with respect by the staff and in return were so appreciative for the services they were receiving.
I know that residents and businesses in the area surrounding the shelter pod site are worried that they will be affected by people staying at the pods. I live across from a group home. At times, there is noise but no more than or more frequent than noise from people who come home from the bars downtown. With a number of local agencies offering services, I feel hopeful that there could be the atmosphere I witnessed at the Community Resource Center.
One man, recently homeless, was so proud of having turned his life around and of being sober now. He attends multiple AA meetings a week, lives in a sober house, and said, “I’m learning to encourage myself.” How did you manage this? I asked him. “You gotta want it. Nobody’s gonna do it for you.”
This was a man who had had multiple, significant losses. “Everyone needs a chance at life.” He’s so appreciative to be getting one. This is what the shelter pods could offer.
We can’t know the stories people carry. But we can make a difference in the lives of those who carry a heavy burden of circumstances. The neighbors of the Beacon Apartments in South Burlington did. They provided welcome kits to the incoming low-income residents and even beautified the surroundings with garden beds. Imagine transforming a parking lot into a gracious welcome, contributing to plantings that create an environment that encourages people rather than demeans them.
Volunteers at Feeding Chittenden did just that and claim it contributes to lowering stress and reactive behavior. With the drastic increase of homeless people in Burlington and the time to house unhoused people in motels running out, we need to take a step.
I hope the city finds the property managers for the site so that the shelter pods can be a step to a more stable life for people who need it.
