BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – As homelessness and drug abuse continue to push Burlington residents to the breaking point, local churches are often a refuge for the city’s most vulnerable. But some church leaders say they have to draw the line when it comes to illegal activities and abuse of their property.
There is frustration on the front steps of Burlington’s 150-year-old First Methodist Church.
“This is private property so I’m going to ask you to leave,” said Pastor Kerry Cameron, addressing people hanging out in front of the Buell Street Church.
The church towers over the over the Queen City and Cameron says it’s struggling with a towering problem, too. “No one who has ever sat in these pews would have thought we would have had a humanitarian crisis on the lawn,” she said. Drug use, drug dealing, and homeless camps now surround the sanctuary. “We are definitely under siege.”
The church — along with neighboring First Congregational Church — and a nearby parking garage have created a triangle of unwanted activity, forcing Cameron to take action.
“Where is the accountability? We are being asked to set up cameras, put up fences, all of these things. Where do we say, okay, it’s time to step up to the plate and help yourself?” she said. The pastor says while they welcome folks struggling with addiction, the guidance they offer has mostly been rejected. “It’s very difficult to be showing compassion when we don’t receive the compassion in return.”
Instead of accepting their help, Cameron says church property has been stolen or destroyed. And then there’s the mess — trash, needles, and human feces. “And I hate picking up the stuff because I feel like I’m enabling them,” she said.
Reporter Ike Bendavid: Are you running out of patience?
Pastor Kerry Cameron: I’m starting to.
And yet the crimes continue to escalate, she says. “We have been threatened — that our community would be killed. I’ve had a knife pulled on me,” Cameron said. It’s all she can do to ask Jesus for help. “He would be so sad. I am sad. Every day that I walk in here, I am sad. I am sad for them, Im sad for our church, and the city has got to come through. I’m sorry, but it has been a nightmare.
Moments after our interview, WCAX cameras capture a man injecting drugs and the police arriving to arrest him. We are told its for an outstanding warrant. Dozens of other people remain nearby, apparently unphased.
Pastor Cameron says she is grateful for the police response on this day, but adds that they don’t always respond and that kicking people off the property doesn’t always work. The church is now issuing trespass notices because of the ongoing trouble. “I have never in my wildest dreams thought I would do that, you know? We are a church. We are supposed to love, we are supposed to welcome,” she said.
The bad behavior on Buell Street has prompted some neighbors to modify their daily routines. “Me and my friends — when we walk around — we walk right up the middle of the street,” said Nolan Kurtz, a University of Vermont student. He says discarded needles are a common sight. “Its a pretty sad situation but we try to avoid that street.”
Others, like UVM student Charlie Bolduan, say the issue calls for more compassion. “We do need to help these people. I think this is a systemic issue,” he said.
Burlington Police say they are playing whack-a-mole and that the open drug use just pops up elsewhere, from City Hall Park to the library. “We go there as often as we can, as well as the Marketplace garage, to ensure that open-air unlawful activity is met with a response,” said Police Chief John Murad.
“We have tried to be patient,” said Pastor Cameron, who we watched invite one of the men outside to a Sunday service. “Let’s have these kind of conversations, but it’s gotta be a two-way street.”
In her most recent community safety report, Burlington Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak pointed to an increase in police and security in the area around the two churches and the Marketplace garage. Police over the past weekend could be seen ordering people camping in the area to remove their tents. Meanwhile, Pastor Cameron says she has been offering free meals in exchange for a conversation but has had few takers.