This commentary is by Pelin Kohn, a Montpelier city councilor.
Homelessness is not a local issue. It’s a Vermont issue.
Towns and cities across the state are grappling with a growing crisis — one that reflects not just economic hardship, but the moral core of our communities. Montpelier, like many others, is doing everything it can to respond with compassion and urgency. But the truth is undeniable: no municipality — no matter how committed — can solve this crisis alone.
Leadership isn’t just about policy. It’s about values. It’s about seeing the humanity in every neighbor — housed or unhoused — and making decisions grounded in justice, dignity and shared responsibility.
A statewide moral challenge
The recent cutbacks in Vermont’s emergency motel housing program did more than close doors — it exposed a gap between what we say we value and how we act. The program wasn’t perfect, but it was a lifeline for hundreds. Its abrupt end for many people left communities scrambling to respond — without the tools, funding or coordinated strategy to succeed.
This isn’t just about governance. It’s about people. When families sleep in cars, tents line our rivers, and shelters are forced to turn people away — we must ask: where are our values when they’re needed most?
What communities are doing — and why it’s not enough
In Montpelier, we’ve responded with policies that prioritize health over punishment, strong partnerships with service providers and investments in affordable housing. We’ve advocated regionally and acted locally.
But like so many Vermont towns, we’re stretching limited resources to meet growing needs. Communities are doing their part. But the systems meant to support them are stretched too thin. This crisis demands more than local response — it requires statewide responsibility.
A call for statewide moral action
The Vermont Civic Health Index shows that residents trust local government more than national government — but they’re losing faith that any level of leadership is truly acting on shared values. That erosion isn’t apathy. It’s frustration. It’s the quiet heartbreak of watching systems fail the most vulnerable among us.
To move from crisis to commitment, Vermont must reinvest in emergency shelter, expand supportive housing and mental health services and make decisions guided by values — not just budgets — because lives are at stake.
Let’s be the Vermont we say we are
“Vermont values” must be more than a slogan. If we truly stand for equity, justice and community, then we must act like it — especially when people’s survival depends on it. Many towns are doing what they can. But no municipality can carry this burden alone. We need a coordinated, compassionate, statewide response — rooted in courage, integrity and our collective will.
Because at the end of the day, this isn’t about policy memos or budget lines. It’s about people. People living in cars behind grocery stores. Parents keeping children warm in tents along frozen rivers. Seniors choosing between medication and a motel room.
If we continue to treat homelessness as someone else’s problem, we will keep failing those who need us most.
Leadership means refusing to look away. Now is the time for Vermont to lead — not with fear, not with spreadsheets, but with conviction, compassion and moral clarity. That’s the Vermont we believe in. It’s time to prove it.
