WATERBURY, Vt. (WCAX) – By April about 1,500 Vermont households living in government-subsidized hotel rooms – will have to check out.
With Vermont’s hotel-motel program ending – the state is working out plans to find those people shelter.
One solution was proposed in Waterbury Monday night, to convert the town’s Armory into a 40-50 person shelter.
Department of Children and Family Commissioner Chris Winters presented at the meeting – saying the state is trying to set up five additional shelters throughout Vermont to help ease the end of the program.
“We are trying to stand up under the current budget we are working with to get as many beds as possible,” Winters said.
Winters says the shelter would be temporarily open from April 1- July 1.
Right now a rough design shows it having 40 beds with plywood separators.
“We keep pivoting to whatever would work to try to stand up these shelters to try to get this done by April 1,” Winters said.
Waterbury residents expressed their concerns at the meeting – saying the plan seems rushed.
“To come in and rush this process into a community without careful thought not only to us – but to the people you claim to take care – we have no emergency services anywhere near us,” Waterbury resident Tamatha Thomas Hossey said.
While others believe the town should be more welcoming to the idea.
“I would like to voice my support for this project, I think if the state and the town can overcome the barriers that we’ve spoken about, we shouldn’t let our fear and scarcity get in the way of providing Vermonters get through something incredibly difficult,” another Waterbury resident said.
The Vermont House of Representatives gave the green light last week to a mid-year spending plan which provides hotel funding through the end of June.
But the plan still has to clear the senate – and earn the governor’s signature – and Winters says he doesn’t want to bank on that.
“It’s a difficult problem, and people are complicated just like everyone in this room are complicated,” Winters said. “You may see some of the worst of it in the street or in the crime logs, but that’s not the majority of people I’ve interacted with.”
Winters said the state doesn’t intend to use the shelter after the three months – and are working on the long-term solution.