On Friday, March 13, Vermont was faced with an unprecedented question: What do we do in the face of an emergency of the size of the one in front of us, particularly for those without resources who were either living in the street, couch surfing or in congregate settings (shelters), and were considered high-risk “vectors?
Amazingly, we provided adequate housing for most of our homeless by moving as many people as possible into hotels in order to mitigate contagion. There are currently 1,961 people in hotel rooms across the state, including 273 children. And this strategy worked — as of May 8, there have been no recorded cases of Covid-19 in any of the individuals now housed.
In addition, regional consortiums of community-based groups with innumerable volunteers provided supplemental services to this population, including delivering meals. These organizations banded together in the spirit of “Vermont Strong,” but these nonprofits are working beyond their bandwidth and fiscal capability.
In our legislative work, we have been keenly aware of the deficiencies in our social safety net, as it applies to emergency shelter, affordable housing, and wrap-around services. We have seen us, as a state, get caught in the vise of budgetary restraint and diminished capacity, even though it is clear that by providing, at the least, four walls and a roof, mitigates many other social issues that come with poverty, food insecurity, and precarious housing.
And here we are, in a global emergency, and we housed every homeless individual and family we found. It was no mean feat, and we honor those who did the work: our nonprofits, Vermont’s Office of Economic Opportunity, Department for Children and Families, and the Agency of Human Services.
Housing individuals and families in available hotel rooms was the right thing to do, but it is not sustainable. Which leads us to this question: what is the NEXT right thing to do? As the Covid emergency plateaus, it is important to have a humane transition plan. With the coronavirus still active, returning people back into shelters is not the answer and is a public health risk. Therefore, the state is extending hotel vouchers as well as supportive services and food near-term.
The pandemic highlights the need for a more integrated housing system, from emergency shelters to supportive permanent housing solutions – something that has been studied, but not capitalized for years. Current systems are untenable. Covid has shown us Vermont can house its homeless, at least temporarily, now we need to reimagine, reengineer, and build upon recent successes. The Agency of Human Services, with other state departments and housing advocates, is currently developing a “Rehousing Plan” to present to the Legislature.
We have in place an infrastructure that can act upon any plan we put in place, as any plan will essentially be the long-sought desired outcome of the affordable housing sector: to provide housing with dignity and the services needed to succeed with the hardest population to shelter in the state. All agree a Housing First model improves vulnerable lives, lessens support of other public resources, and builds more robust communities. Here are some of the issues discussed:
Better support for non-profit service providers across the state. Level state funding for many have compromised their abilities over the last few years.
Expand rental subsidies and arrearages support, including mobile homes, to maintain housing stability in the near-term as we rebuild the economy.
Develop and rehabilitate permanently affordable housing units, so that lower wage income earners are not spending more than 30% of their income on rent.
Expand permanent supportive housing for individuals with complex needs, which will require acquisition of units in an incredibly tight real estate market.
Design, test, and support new and innovative programs by providers to remain responsive to existing and emerging needs.
How to pay for these programs?
Initial estimates calculate about $110 million is needed to jumpstart these efforts and the majority could come from federal Covid relief funds. This includes funding for support services, rental subsidy, assistance and arrearage programs, and capital expenditures. Given the strictures of the use of these funds, these efforts would focus on housing the homeless and providing long-term solutions.
Longer-term, we need to examine how state tax credits are utilized to subsidize rental and home ownership opportunities as well as making annual budget decisions supporting these programs. With these investments, we can recognize through data collection and interpretation that we may save money currently allocated for emergency services.
Realign Vermont’s property transfer tax funding. Prior to the emergency, the direct allocation from the property transfer tax was just under 50% of the statutory formula, with other funds allocated to the Vermont Housing and Conservation Trust Fund through sources such as the Capital Fund. Money used from the property transfer tax is incredibly effective in creating new affordable housing.
Finally, we need to continue to work alongside the administration and our congressional delegation on upcoming stimulus and recovery bills to address unmet needs, secure necessary statutory and regulatory flexibility, enhance the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, HOME Investment Partnerships, and other federal resources.
The opportunity in this crisis will be lost, if in hindsight, we look back and see that we merely interrupted homelessness during this health cataclysm. Everyone deserves a home.