Day Two of The Great Unhousing passed with far less fanfare than Day One, but the human toll was just as high and the consequences just as shameful. Our area of central Vermont was hit by a tremendous rainstorm yesterday afternoon, and I had to wonder how many of the newly-unhoused were being thoroughly soaked and their possessions destroyed by the downpour. Too bad the state’s “Adverse Weather Policy” is only designed to minimize the number of people who actually freeze to death. Dangerous heat and severe storms? Eh, that’s okay, I guess.
(The image above is taken from a video posted on Twitter by Brenda Siegel. I used a screenshot where the person’s face is obscured because I want to be illustrative without being exploitive. We do need to be reminded of the humanity behind the statistics and the policy debates without reducing our fellow Vermonters to political props. I appreciate Siegel continuing to bear witness; somebody’s got to.)
There was little media coverage on Day Two because there wasn’t anything “new,” just another day of unnecessary misery. Just another day when people who were living on the edge come closer to falling over. Just another day when the bland professions of our political class ring hollow. Heck, the only thing that’s got them hot and bothered is a bit of vandalism on their doorsteps.
At this moment I have a hard time ginning up any outrage on their behalf. We’d all like to feel secure in our homes, and I understand that. It’s just that some people don’t have homes at all, and our leaders played an active role in making that happen.
There are other issues I need to spend time on, and not every upcoming post will be about The Great Unhousing. But a lot of them will be, because it’s too easy for those of us with roofs over our heads to lose sight of the fact that this is still happening. For a lack of political will, we have consigned 700 Vermonters to a scramble for survival that some of them will lose. Hundreds more will be added to that list at the end of this month, and hundreds more in late July unless the Legislature takes bold action during its veto override session.
Or unless the Scott administration feels a sudden surge of humanity in their dry, dusty consciences. They could undo this in a hot minute, if they should choose to.
In the meantime, let’s make things as uncomfortable as possible for them. They haven’t gotten the message yet. I can’t recommend vandalism as a tactic, but I’m going to keep using this platform to amplify the unheard voices. The stain on our souls continues to spread. We can stop it anytime.
The Vermont Political Observer. 
You are blaming the Scott administration? Really? With its pitiful numbers? Why are you not placing the blame squarely where it belongs — on the ultra liberal, socialist, supermajority Vermont Legislature — mostly all Dems and Progs. Stop tip-toeing around the real reason this crisis is happening. Are you afraid to call out Dems and Progs by name? You cheerlead for liberalism when they do dastardly things to pro-lifers and Republicans and conservatives, but you protect them when they touch one of your sacred cows. Be consistent, for goodness sake! Otherwise you have no credibility. Yes, we know the liberal Vermont legislature did this to homeless people, but it is more important to protect liberalism than to care about the marginalized people they have hurt. It is plain to see.
I am blaming all of them, but the administration is in charge of, well, administrating. It’s had two-plus years to devise a transition away from this program, and it utterly failed to do so. There’s plenty of additional evidence that the administration made a complete botch of managing the program, which meant wasted dollars and effort.
“The image above is taken from a video posted on Twitter by Brenda Siegel.”
Did Brenda Siegel do anything for the woman sitting on the Vermont curb that she was kicked to with all her worldly possessions other than post her image?
Vermont has the highest incidence of nonprofits per capita in the United States of America. Vermont’s greatest single source of its gross domestic product is nonprofits.
Nonprofit revenue in Vermont exceeds the total of both manufacturing and construction combined. Vermont nonprofits consume millions of dollars annually. Much of those millions is spent on salaries and operating expenses for these non-governmental-governmental organizations. Nonprofits are themselves the single greatest source of social welfare in Vermont …. for those who operate them.
Nonprofits in Vermont serve as de facto governmental organizations and engage in services in Vermont (and outsourced to them by Vermont) that would otherwise be the responsibility of local government in most other states. Some of them actually receive and disperse millions in funds annually that are issued by the Vermont legislature appropriations committee.
A casual observer walking down the enlightened thoroughfares of Montpelier can’t help but notice the inordinately large percentage of city retail space that is consumed by nonprofit organizations.
Where are these nonprofit organizations now?
And Nero fiddled while …..
If you cared, you’d know that the relevant nonprofits are working like mad to help as many people as they can. But the scale of this sudden wave of homelessness is too much for them to handle all at once. Brenda Siegel did, actually, help that woman and also asked permission before videotaping her and sharing her story. The state bears responsibility for creating an unnecessary crisis and the nonprofits and caring individuals can’t pick up all the slack.
If the administration wanted to they could repurpose underused state buildings that could be converted into temp lodging around the state for the homeless. But that would require leadership.
“But that would require leadership.”
Not only would it require leadership, but it would require a desire to do something about the this disaster that they’ve so needlessly created and, except for a handful of legislators, they don’t give a damn.
“….relevant nonprofits are working like mad to help as many people as they can.”
So where are the results of said madly working nonprofits?
Surely, as one so devoted to Vermont’s Unhoused, you would immediately report such successes — even to the approximately 12 regular readers of your blog, or whatever you call this self-aggrandizing diatribe.
You behave as a petulant little man, John. The world already has too many, no need to add to that overflowing, facile, impotent cabal.
Didn’t VTDigger fire you for factual “errors” in your writing?
Apparently, Galloway’s only other option would have been to strap you in a straitjacket, tie you to a tree on State St. and let writhe and kick and spit on passersby.
No, VTDigger did not fire me for factual errors.
It is now my personal observation that almost 100 percent of what the federal government in America is telling us, and 80 to 90 percent of what the government of the state of Vermont is telling us, is a LIE!! Our state and federal governments are LYING to us!!