This commentary is by Jeremy Rathbun of Middlebury, a licensed mechanical professional engineer, licensed site designer and licensed class III wastewater operator.
An open letter to the Vermont Legislature: I am writing to you today about the end of the hotel voucher program for the homeless in the state of Vermont.
I think it is safe to say, given the situation we are in, that every Vermonter should have paid more attention to the homeless situation in the state of Vermont, including myself. I know I hoped, rather foolishly, that the situation would resolve itself or that some plan would come forward, and with all the other issues to deal with in the state, I guess we all lost sight of the urgency of this one.
Thankfully there have been those among us making sure this issue was brought to the forefront, and I think it is safe to say the homelessness crisis, and the impending end to the voucher program, is now top of mind of everyone in the state.
I have attended some meetings this week where progressive senators and reps working on the homeless crisis have stated that a plan is starting to come together, which is encouraging news. Less so is the scope of what will happen if it does not.
I have been told that as many as 200 to 300 children will be made homeless by the end of the voucher program, some for the first time in their lives. Many of these families have jobs and apartment vouchers, but as we all know, there is a housing crisis marching hand in hand with the homeless crisis in this state, and many people are finding themselves in a terrible situation completely beyond their control.
I think about those kids. I think about their mother or father tucking them in to sleep in a tent or the back seat of a car once the hotel program ends, telling them that everything will be OK and it will all be normal again soon, knowing very well that it may well never be normal again.
It bothers me deeply, and it should bother us all. Not just because what will unfold is a humanitarian tragedy, but because none of us are very far away from those soon-to-be homeless mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, grandfathers and grandmothers, uncles, aunts and cousins.
The only reason I have my home is because I bought it almost 20 years ago, when an average family could still afford a home in most parts of Vermont. If my wife and I were starting now, we could not afford to live here; in fact, we might not be able to afford to live anywhere in Vermont. We would leave Vermont, for better prospects farther south, and my kids would see their grandparents twice a year, instead of once a week as I did growing up.
Most of our families are not that far removed from those people soon to be facing homelessness, and that should scare all of us. It should wake us up to realize we have a moral obligation to help these people. They are not “others”; they are us. They are all of us, with one more bad break, one medical bill too many, one more hit that just knocked them down too hard to get all the way back up, unless someone lends them a hand.
When I was a young engineer, my supervisor told me one of the greatest life lessons I ever learned. I had made a mistake during construction of a project, and was very worried about what would happen next.
What he told me sticks with me to this day: “Everyone makes mistakes, some large, some small. In a year’s time, no one will remember your mistake; what they will remember is how hard you tried to fix it.”
I fear as Vermonters we made a monumental mistake by not including in the state budget the resources for a humane transition to the end of the hotel voucher program. Fortunately, we have a chance during the veto session to make this right. We have to find a way to fix this. I ask that you return to Montpelier with an open mind and an open heart, and work toward a solution that we can all be proud of.
I thank you all deeply for your service to the state of Vermont. Please return to Montpelier and make us all proud.
