{"id":628504,"date":"2025-07-30T16:31:41","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T20:31:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/?p=628504"},"modified":"2025-07-31T10:07:33","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T14:07:33","slug":"unsheltered-homelessness-spikes-in-vermont-as-need-outstrips-safety-net","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/2025\/07\/30\/unsheltered-homelessness-spikes-in-vermont-as-need-outstrips-safety-net\/","title":{"rendered":"Unsheltered homelessness spikes in Vermont as need outstrips safety net\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"798\" data-attachment-id=\"628402\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/homeless-camping-2-20250729\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/homeless-camping-2-20250729.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2500,1663\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;4.5&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Glenn Russell&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;NIKON Z 6&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;One of the many homeless camping sites on the Burlington waterfront seen on Tuesday, July 29, 2025. Photo by Glenn Russell\\\/VTDigger&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1753810511&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;Glenn Russell&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;86&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;160&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.002&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;homeless-camping-2 20250729&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"homeless-camping-2 20250729\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;One of the camping sites on the Burlington waterfront, where unhoused residents live, on Tuesday, July 29, 2025. Photo by Glenn Russell\/VTDigger&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;One of the camping sites on the Burlington waterfront, where unhoused residents live, on Tuesday, July 29, 2025. Photo by Glenn Russell\/VTDigger&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/homeless-camping-2-20250729-300x200.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/homeless-camping-2-20250729-1200x798.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/homeless-camping-2-20250729-1200x798.jpg\" alt=\"A campsite with tents, tarps, and clothes hanging on lines is set up among trees in a wooded area with green vegetation.\" class=\"wp-image-628402\" srcset=\"https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/homeless-camping-2-20250729-1200x798.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/homeless-camping-2-20250729-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/homeless-camping-2-20250729-125x83.jpg 125w, https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/homeless-camping-2-20250729-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/homeless-camping-2-20250729-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/homeless-camping-2-20250729-2048x1362.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/homeless-camping-2-20250729-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/homeless-camping-2-20250729-2000x1330.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/homeless-camping-2-20250729-780x519.jpg 780w, https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/homeless-camping-2-20250729-400x266.jpg 400w, https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/homeless-camping-2-20250729-706x470.jpg 706w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">One of the camping sites on the Burlington waterfront, where unhoused residents live, on Tuesday, July 29. Photo by Glenn Russell\/VTDigger<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em>This story, by Report for America corps member Carly Berlin, was produced through a partnership between VTDigger and Vermont Public.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An annual tally of Vermonters experiencing homelessness showed a modest decrease between January of 2024 and 2025, the first downward trend in the data since before the Covid-19 pandemic began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the data shows a growing share of Vermont\u2019s homeless population is living \u201cunsheltered,\u201d meaning people are sleeping in a vehicle or outside. Advocates say it\u2019s not time to celebrate a turn of fortune in the state\u2019s efforts to curb its homelessness problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhile this year\u2019s numbers are sobering, they have remained relatively stable compared to last year. But stability doesn\u2019t mean that the crisis is easing,\u201d said Taylor Thibault, associate director of homelessness prevention initiatives at Champlain Housing Trust and co-chair of the Chittenden County Homeless Alliance, at a press briefing revealing Vermont\u2019s latest homelessness metrics on Wednesday.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe title=\"Vermont's unhoused population count varies by source\" aria-label=\"Interactive line chart\" id=\"datawrapper-chart-AuzvP\" src=\"https:\/\/datawrapper.dwcdn.net\/AuzvP\/4\/\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;\" height=\"457\" data-external=\"1\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">!function(){\"use strict\";window.addEventListener(\"message\",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(\"iframe\");for(var t in a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"][t]+\"px\";r.style.height=d}}})}();\n<\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>Vermont\u2019s 2025 point-in-time count \u2014 a yearly, federally mandated effort to to tally every person experiencing homelessness on a single night each winter \u2014 registered 3,386 people this past January.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s a decrease of 72 people, or 2%, since January of 2024, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/helpingtohousevt.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/FINAL-State-of-Homelessness-2025.pdf\">a report <\/a>released Wednesday by the Housing and Homelessness Alliance of Vermont and the two regional organizations that oversee the count.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yet the share of unhoused people living without shelter rose dramatically year-over-year. This January, the count registered 270 people who were \u201cunsheltered,\u201d which the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development defines as having a \u201cprimary nighttime location\u201d like a vehicle or the streets. That\u2019s a nearly 63% uptick since the 2024 tally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That figure is considered a significant undercount. On the night of the annual census, the city of Burlington was operating <a href=\"https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/2025\/01\/20\/frigid-forecast-prompts-barre-burlington-to-open-emergency-shelters\/\">an emergency cold-weather shelter<\/a> as the city faced frigid temperatures. That meant more than 70 individuals who used the shelter were counted as having a place to sleep indoors, even though the shelter only operated for a few nights.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHistorically, Vermont has had very low rates of unsheltered homelessness,\u201d said Sarah Russell, special assistant to end homelessness for the city of Burlington. \u201cNow, that is really not true.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe title=\"How sheltered &amp;amp; unsheltered Vermonters compare\" aria-label=\"Multiple Lines\" id=\"datawrapper-chart-ipl0J\" src=\"https:\/\/datawrapper.dwcdn.net\/ipl0J\/6\/\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;\" height=\"530\" data-external=\"1\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">!function(){\"use strict\";window.addEventListener(\"message\",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(\"iframe\");for(var t in a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"][t]+\"px\";r.style.height=d}}})}();\n<\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>The point-in-time count is generally regarded as a low estimate of the number of people experiencing homelessness: accurately counting people sleeping outdoors is <a href=\"https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/2024\/02\/06\/how-many-vermonters-are-unhoused-the-states-best-answer-is-likely-incomplete\/\">notoriously difficult<\/a>, particularly in Vermont\u2019s rural setting. The count only captures people who spoke with outreach workers conducting the January tally, and it doesn\u2019t include people who are couch-surfing or doubling up with relatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But service providers and advocates now have what they say is a more accurate and up-to-date method for counting Vermonters experiencing homelessness throughout the year. And its results reveal an even larger population struggling to maintain stable housing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Across Vermont, homeless service providers use a system called \u201cCoordinated Entry\u201d to streamline assistance for unhoused people. Earlier this year, the two entities that oversee that system throughout the state synced up their datasets for the first time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The combined data shows that there were 4,588 unhoused Vermonters in June 2025, according to the report released Wednesday. That figure includes 1,041 children under the age of 18.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhat we\u2019re talking about is our neighbors,\u201d said Paul Dragon, executive director of the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity, at the press conference. \u201cThe family with children sleeping in their car, driving around trying to find a safe place to park \u2026 it\u2019s not unusual. It\u2019s quite common.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe title=\"Age breakdown of Vermonters experiencing homelessness\" aria-label=\"Grouped Bars\" id=\"datawrapper-chart-lhFmG\" src=\"https:\/\/datawrapper.dwcdn.net\/lhFmG\/4\/\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;\" height=\"606\" data-external=\"1\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">!function(){\"use strict\";window.addEventListener(\"message\",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(\"iframe\");for(var t in a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"][t]+\"px\";r.style.height=d}}})}();\n<\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>Advocates say even the Coordinated Entry numbers represent an underestimate, since the data only reflects people currently connected to services. The system also excludes people receiving shelter via the state\u2019s sexual and domestic violence nonprofits to shield their privacy. (The Coordinated Entry data does use a slightly broader definition of homelessness than the point-in-time count, encompassing people who will lose their housing imminently.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Coordinated Entry data also offers a window into how long Vermonters remain unhoused. Only about a quarter of people experiencing homelessness were able to find housing in less than three months, according to data compiled in June. For more than 30% of people, finding housing in Vermont\u2019s tight market took more than a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe title=\"How long Vermonters stay unhoused\" aria-label=\"Table\" id=\"datawrapper-chart-2ipmY\" src=\"https:\/\/datawrapper.dwcdn.net\/2ipmY\/1\/\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;\" height=\"261\" data-external=\"1\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">!function(){\"use strict\";window.addEventListener(\"message\",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(\"iframe\");for(var t in a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"][t]+\"px\";r.style.height=d}}})}();\n<\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>As the number of Vermonters experiencing homelessness registers in the thousands, capacity at homeless shelters numbers in the hundreds. Even as many organizations have added more shelter beds in recent years, the state has space for only 602 households in traditional shelters, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/legislature.vermont.gov\/assets\/Legislative-Reports\/Act-113-Monthly-Housing-Reporting-6.30.2025.pdf?_gl=1*1w807f9*_ga*MTUzNjkxOTk2OS4xNzQ1ODcyODA0*_ga_V9WQH77KLW*czE3NTM4MjAxMDMkbzkzJGcwJHQxNzUzODIwMTA3JGo1NiRsMCRoMA..\">a state report released in late June<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When those beds are full, the state relies on the motel voucher program, which state leaders have sought to curtail since pandemic-era funding ran out two years ago. Their cost-cutting measures have resulted in multiple waves of evictions, <a href=\"https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/2025\/07\/01\/we-need-a-prayer-as-executive-order-ends-hundreds-of-vermonters-exit-motels\/\">including one in early July<\/a> that primarily impacted families with children and adults with severe medical needs. Hundreds of people have run out of their allotted 80 days in the program and will need to wait months to regain eligibility if they haven\u2019t found another housing option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Though <a href=\"https:\/\/legislature.vermont.gov\/bill\/status\/2026\/H.493\">state law says<\/a> the Department for Children and Families can currently use up to 1,100 motel rooms at a time, <a href=\"https:\/\/dcf.vermont.gov\/Addressing-and-Preventing-Unsheltered-Homelessness\">only 662 are now in use<\/a>, according to state data updated on Monday.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At Wednesday\u2019s press conference, advocates linked the long-running scaleback of the voucher program to the rise in unsheltered homelessness in Vermont.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cDefunding shelter programs such as the motel program does not decrease rates of homelessness. It only sets back the timeline for stability for these households and prevents them from being able to access those basic human needs,\u201d said Russell, from the city of Burlington, who also co-chairs the Chittenden County Homeless Alliance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe title=\"Racial disparities in Vermont's unhoused population\" aria-label=\"Grouped Bars\" id=\"datawrapper-chart-xPSI5\" src=\"https:\/\/datawrapper.dwcdn.net\/xPSI5\/5\/\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;\" height=\"863\" data-external=\"1\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">!function(){\"use strict\";window.addEventListener(\"message\",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(\"iframe\");for(var t in a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"][t]+\"px\";r.style.height=d}}})}();\n<\/script>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/vtdigger.org\/2024\/06\/18\/annual-count-shows-rise-in-homelessness-in-vermont-and-a-jump-in-those-living-without-shelter\/\">In prior years<\/a>, this annual homelessness report has highlighted a stark racial disparity in Vermont\u2019s homelessness population. This year, however, the report\u2019s authors excluded metrics on racial background.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Advocates worried that noting such information in a report submitted to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development could jeopardize federal housing and homelessness funds that flow to Vermont, given the Trump administration\u2019s crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe had to delete a large portion of this report due to the fear of retribution,\u201d said Mary Gerish, an administrator at the Bennington Housing Authority and a co-chair of the Vermont Balance of State Continuum of Care, which tracks homelessness data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A VTDigger\/Vermont Public analysis of Coordinated Entry data from June shows that while Black people make up about 1.2% of Vermont\u2019s population, 7.4% of people who are unhoused are Black.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To ease homelessness in Vermont, the report\u2019s authors called on Gov. Phil Scott and state legislators to make greater investments in affordable housing, shelters, and services, enact more robust protections for renters, and to expand drug treatment options and harm reduction programs, among other demands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEvery year we fail to invest meaningfully in our community, this crisis gets worse,\u201d said Kim Anetsberger, executive director of the Lamoille Community House and the other co-chair of the Continuum of Care. \u201cWe cannot keep delaying this investment.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The number of people sleeping in a car or on the street in Vermont rose 63% from last year \u2013 and it\u2019s likely an undercount.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1825,"featured_media":628402,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"single-feature.php","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","apple_news_api_created_at":"2025-07-30T20:31:45Z","apple_news_api_id":"8246d208-b7cb-416c-95b4-5f3729adf447","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2025-07-31T14:07:36Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQ==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AgkbSCLfLQWyVtF83Ka30Rw","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"everlit_article_id":"","everlit_hide_embed":false,"everlit_embed_size":"","everlit_generation_settings":[],"_everlit_article_id":"","_everlit_hide_embed":false,"_everlit_embed_size":"","_everlit_generation_settings":[],"_everlit_content_hash":"","_everlit_metadata_hash":"","_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"The number of people sleeping in a car or on the street in Vermont rose 63% from last year \u2013 and it\u2019s likely an undercount.\n","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[171840],"tags":[500,26504,171844,7185,111315,160701],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"govpack_profile_tax":[],"coauthors":[165714],"class_list":["post-628504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-housing","tag-champlain-valley-office-of-economic-opportunity","tag-chittenden-county-homeless-alliance","tag-data-stories","tag-homelessness","tag-paul-dragon","tag-sarah-russell","entry"],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.8 - 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