by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Governor Phil Scott and his senior staff today again reiterated the reasons why the General Assistance "Hotel/Motel" program serving some 3,000 homeless needs to transition to the next phase. Scott said along with the obvious cost of the program ($8 million a month or about $145 a day per room), the hotel/motel program was instituted to help people stay safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Without the federal funding the state can not afford to support it as is.
As a transition, they have extended eligibility to for the temporary program to include families with children up 18 years old, from 6, along with the pre-pandemic eligibility that will remain in place (disabled, third trimester of pregnancy, and over 65). The clock will be reset and they will receive another 28 days. The other problem, the governor pointed out, is that the hotel/motel program did not offer services nor did it require individuals to seek services.
In short, the program, now, is failing those in it. He admitted that the transition would be difficult for some and Vermonters might very well see more people sleeping on the streets. About 800 individuals are scheduled to come off the current program on June 1 and another 2,000 or so will come off July 1. Again, some number of those will be eligible for the extended benefits.
On a related issue, Scott is expected to veto the state budget Saturday in large part because it spends too much. That veto could be sustained because Progressives and some Democrats do not like that more money was not set aside for the homeless housing issue. That all could mean that the budget writing would have to be reopened and spending could be increased not, as the governor would prefer, reduced.
Remarks as Prepared from Governor Phil Scott weekly Press Conference May 26, 2023
Good afternoon and thanks for being here.
I know there’s a lot of interest in our plans to transition from the emergency pandemic hotel/motel program to a system that’s better for the clients, the communities, and the state, so we’re going to dig into that with you today.
Secretary Samuelson will cover the current hotel/motel program which was established at the very beginning of the pandemic. It was specifically intended for people who would otherwise be in a congregate shelter, but they were closed because physical distancing was not possible.
Over time, it ballooned into something totally different and while it made sense in the beginning, after three years, it’s clear that it’s not working as well as it needs to.
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As the Secretary will also explain, the program doesn’t integrate well with our current social service system and the hotels and motels in this program have also become significant public safety concerns, exposing the vulnerable program participants to additional risks and have required a lot of attention from law enforcement.
Put more directly, those in the program don’t have adequate access to, and are not required to, reach out for services including safety net programs, counseling, mental health and substance use treatment, or job training.
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When you consider many in the program are no better off than they were three years ago, after spending almost $200 million dollars, you can see why we might conclude there must be a better way.
This may be one of the many reasons why Congress and President chose not to extend the programs, so states could return to a system of with clear eligibility, reasonable requirements, and sustainable funding.
With that in mind, AHS has been working for months, reaching out to people in this program as we transition back to a housing program with a better connection to Vermont’s wrap around services which are among the most generous in the nation.
Now there’s no doubt this is going to be challenging because each has different needs and abilities.
But we’re committed to using the resources of all our agencies and departments, working with municipalities, state funded housing programs, and community groups to build a better housing system, and this has been our approach from the start.
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We have to acknowledge the root cause for many continues to be the affordability crisis we face across the state with housing in particular.
That’s why I’ve asked our Commissioner of Public Safety and Director of Fire Safety to work with local leaders to identify rental housing units that have been taken off the market due to safety concerns and lack of funding to bring them back up to code and introduce them to our very successful VHIP program.
I’ve also directed the Secretary of Natural Resources to continue her work with municipalities to identify communities with the wastewater capacity that would allow for additional housing units.
And, I’ve asked the Commissioner of Housing to work with Office of the Treasurer, VHCB, and VHFA to identify all housing programs and available funding to significantly expedite construction of short, medium, and long-term housing and report by June 30th on how the housing money intended to go to the Treasurer and VHCB in the budget could be deployed to get faster results for low- and middle- income Vermonters.
Lastly, looking a little further down the road, I’ve also asked that by July 28th, the Secretary of Commerce and Community Development, the Chair of the Natural Resources Board, the Secretary of Natural Resources, and the Secretary of Transportation identify all local and state rules and regulations which currently challenge the timely development of safe, decent, affordable housing in our communities.
They’ll report back to me on any flexibility that exists and whether temporary suspension of some rules and regulations would get us there faster.
Again, there’s a lot going on and we acknowledge that moving away from this pandemic emergency program is going to be a challenge for some, but we’re going to work with them, as best we can, to help them through it.
