Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin’s efforts to address homelessness in his state continued the week of January 7 when he signed legislation authorizing the Vermont Plan to End Homelessness. The plan strengthens Vermont’s strategies to address affordable housing, under-employment, domestic violence, and mental health and substance abuse issues that have led to increased homelessness in recent years. During the first two years of his term, Governor Shumlin approved two new rental assistance programs, replenishing the federal Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing program with state funds, and increased funding for the state Housing and Conservation Trust Fund (see Memo, 6/8/12).
In January 2012, the Shumlin administration re-established the Vermont Council on Homelessness to develop and monitor the state’s 10-year plan to end homelessness. The council reports annually on progress made toward accomplishing the plan’s goals, and recommends resource, policy and regulatory changes needed to accomplish them. It is composed of state agency staff, entities engaged in preventing or addressing homelessness, persons experiencing homelessness and housing providers. Erhard Mahnke of the Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition (VAHC), an NLIHC state coalition partner, worked intensively on the plan through a council subcommittee, which included VAHC members.
“Our focus on ending homelessness has been sharpened by a week of life-threatening sub-zero weather in northern New England,” Mr. Mahnke said. “Governor Shumlin, his administration and legislative leaders deserve a lot of credit for committing additional scarce state resources to help bend the curve on homelessness as the federal government backs further away from its responsibility to help house our lowest income and most vulnerable citizens.”
The plan outlines a procedure for developing a housing production strategy. Additionally, it clearly states the need for an increased number of units affordable to people who are extremely low income. The council will consult supportive service agencies on how housing will be created and funded. It also will set goals for a multi-year housing strategy to increase housing for people who are homeless.
In its plan, the council suggests that policymakers improve the efficiency and effectiveness of existing programs, pointing to Vermont’s reliance on motels and hotels to provide emergency temporary housing for people who are homeless. This program provides housing for 11% of the state’s homeless population; state spending on the program has more than doubled over the last several years, from $1.5 to $3.5 million.
Although the program offers needed relief to homeless individuals and families, VAHC believes the funds could be used to keep people housed longer less expensively. According to advocates, the cost for a homeless family’s maximum hotel stay of 84 days is almost equivalent to the cost of one Section 8 voucher. The plan includes provisions for the state to move further toward providing rental assistance for permanent affordable housing. The Shumlin administration is working with legislators and advocates to identify cost-effective alternatives to motel housing.
Other strategies for ending homelessness include enhancing case management services, developing an accountability system around discharge and relocation planning, expediting Supplemental Security and Disability Income applications, creating a short-term disability fund to keep people housed if they lose employment due to illness, enhancing services to General Assistance recipients to include education and employment assessments, and developing incentives for landlords to rent to households with significant barriers to housing.
For more information, contact Erhard Mahnke at [email protected].