BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Burlington’s mayor is bringing her plan for homeless encampments to the City Council Monday night. It comes as the city is shifting tactics with the new Progressive administration, including ongoing engagement and assistance for two encampments growing on the city’s waterfront.
Visitors headed toward North Beach on the Burlington Bike Path encounter a sign warning that camping is not allowed in the area. But look a little deeper in the woods, and it’s clear to see several encampments that are getting a pass from authorities.
“I knew that coming in as mayor-elect that we were facing a similar pattern of encampments as we have for the last several years,” said Burlington Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak, who recently sent a memo to the City Council outlining her plan for handling the encampments. “I wanted to make sure that we had a better-organized plan.”
The memo warns the council the problem could get worse in the coming months as the state cuts funding for homeless prevention and continues to tighten up eligibility for motel vouchers. “Burlington will see even more of an increase and we need to be prepared,” Mulvaney-Stanak said.
The memo also outlines steps the city has taken to assist the encampments, including putting in trash cans, portable bathrooms, and drinking water.
“This is about, again, some basic amenities so people have a little bit more of a liveable space — because they are going to live there anyway. For me, this is pretty darn basic for folks that are unhoused and have nowhere else to go,” Mulvaney-Stanak said.
We spoke Monday morning with a new encampment resident who asked us to use the name “Eddie Uptown.” “Trying to find a place to stay. I’m tired of sleeping underneath the bus stop in front of the library,” he said. Eddie says he struggles with drugs, has colon cancer, and is thankful for the bathrooms the city is supplying. “That’s why I came down… I’m tired of just squatting on the side of a building and leaving a mess and not being able to clean it up.”
The mayor says that unlike previous city attempts to provide bathrooms and other services — including at Sears Lane four years ago, where officials ultimately ended up forcibly removing residents — they are trying to take a more proactive than reactive stance this time.