Depending on their eligibility criteria, about 2,800 are due to lose their shelter in several waves over the spring and summer — starting today.
Judge denies effort to delay evictions from motel program
Author: Lola Duffort
Lola Duffort is a political reporter for VTDigger, covering Vermont state government, the congressional delegation and elections. She previously covered education for Digger, the Concord Monitor in New Hampshire and the Rutland Herald. She has also freelanced for the Miami Herald in Florida, where she grew up. She is a graduate of McGill University in Canada.
Vermont Legal Aid sues state to halt evictions from motel program
Vermont Superior Court Judge Timothy Tomasi scheduled an expedited hearing for 8:30 a.m. Thursday — the same day the first 800 people are scheduled to be booted from the program.
Phil Scott vetoes Vermont’s $8.5B state budget, House Speaker calls for state of emergency
Democrats command supermajorities in both the House and the Senate, but overriding the governor is still expected to be a complicated task, particularly in the lower chamber.
State announces 28-day extension for some in motels
It’s unclear how many people will receive the extra month of shelter. An actual breakdown was not available from state officials on Friday, although minors alone account for nearly 600 of the individuals living in motels.
As motel program winds down for unhoused Vermonters, state looks to out-of-state contractors for solution
The Agency of Human Services on Wednesday released a request for proposals for emergency shelter staffing and services, with the hope of providing up to 1,000 shelter beds statewide.
As 2,800 Vermonters prepare to lose their shelter, Democrats blame Phil Scott and plead for donations — to themselves
Anne Sosin, a public health researcher at Dartmouth College who lobbied lawmakers to extend the motel program, called it “obscene” that Democrats would fundraise “off the backs of the thousands of Vermonters they've just voted to un-shelter.”
Longtime Vermont This Week moderator Stewart Ledbetter to step down
“I've been thinking that everything, everyone has its cycle,” Ledbetter said. “And I've had a great run for many years, but I thought it was time for someone else to have their shot.”
Legislature approves $8.5B state budget — and braces for a messy override vote
While the spending package — the largest in state history — funds a slew of initiatives that would, in a different year, have offered Democrats, buoyed by supermajorities in both chambers, the chance at a victory lap, one subject overshadowed the rest: homelessness.
Lawmakers pass bill to make ‘quantum leap’ in child care investments
By a 118-27 vote, the House on Friday evening passed out H.217, a measure that advocates say will likely put Vermont first-in-the-nation for its investment in early childhood education.
Breaking their impasse over funding, House and Senate make child care deal
The two chambers have been at loggerheads for weeks about how to finance their historic investment in Vermont’s beleaguered child care sector.
