When pondering a title for this post, I was tempted to borrow one of the most famous headlines ever written: the New York Daily News’ encapsulation of then-president Gerald Ford’s refusal to consider a federal bailout for New York City, which was then at risk of bankruptcy. But this post is about Vermont’s homelessness crisis and people are literally dying for lack of shelter, so I chose a slightly less on-the-nose title than “Scott to Homeless: Drop Dead.”

The point remains. People are going without shelter, people are dying, people are suffering, and Gov. Phil Scott doesn’t care. At least he doesn’t care enough to actually do anything about it. After setting up two Potemkin village “family shelters” capable of housing 17 whole families, the Scott administration has done nothing further to increase shelter capacity or give aid to the helping agencies that are doing their absolute best to keep people from freezing.

The governor has had time to put together significant new proposals on the public education system and on housing, which is to his credit, but there has been no similar effort for the homeless.

Meanwhile, we’re in the middle of another cold snap with nighttime temperatures well below freezing and daytime temps being frigid enough to pose a danger to human life.

And here’s a cheery little number from The Montpelier Bridge: “Central Vermont Faces Soaring Homelessness as Annual Count Begins.” It reports that a Good Samaritan Haven count of the unhoused on November 1 “revealed a staggering 312% increase in central Vermont homelessness compared to 2020.” It reports that a statewide count of the unhoused on November 1 revealed a 312% increase in homelessness compared to 2020*.

*Note: The article has been corrected by The Bridge. Amending my text to reflect the correction.

The governor continues his multi-year determination to cut the General Assistance Emergency Housing program while offering no plan for a cruelty-free transition. His only policy response is regulatory reform on housing projects, which might — at best — create more housing years down the road. Hence my replacement headline.

By the administration’s own figures, 1357 households were sheltered under the GA program as of December 30. But another 466 households were turned away. (That’s approximately 746 individuals, using the standard figure of 1.6 individuals per household.) Or, in the Department of Children and Families’ blame-deflecting phrase, those 466 were “unable to be housed.” Bureaucracy, gotta love it.

One more thing about that 466 number. It doesn’t include three of the 12 service districts. The Middlebury, Morrisville and St. Johnsbury districts were “Redacted due to count size,” whatever the hell that means. Shall we say that at least 466 qualified households were not given shelter?

A reminder that every single one of those unsheltered people qualified for emergency housing due to age, family status, disability, domestic violence, pregnancy, or other factors. They are officially classed as vulnerable, and yet the state turned them all away during our coldest winter in years.

Last spring, the Legislature established the General Assistance Emergency Housing Task Force to explore ways to provide shelter to all of Vermont’s vulnerable. The GA Task Force submitted its 46-page report to the Legislature last week (downloadable from the House Human Services Committee’s “Documents & Handouts” page), outlining suggestions and recommendations.

The Task Force included three members from the Scott administration: Miranda Gray, head of the DCF’s Economic Services Division (which administers the GA housing program), Lily Sojourner of DCF’s Office of Economic Opportunity, and Shaun Gilpin from the Agency of Commerce and Community Development. Funny thing, when you look over minutes of Task Force meetings (downloadable here), you see the administration officials repeatedly abstaining from votes on specific recommendations or action items. Other Task Force members were generally unanimous in their support, while the governor’s representatives sat on their hands.

Well, really, what did you expect? This is the same group of people who have failed — or refused — to devise a glidepath away from the GA Housing program or create any new programs to address the massive increase in homelessness we’ve experienced in recent years.

Right now, the House Human Services Committee is working on its part of the Budget Adjustment Act, an annual bill that will, as it says, amend the current fiscal year budget in light of available funds and current needs. One can hope the committee will put together a solid plan to mitigate the humanitarian disaster playing out on a nightly basis in our state. One thing’s for sure: They won’t get any help from Team Scott.