As nights get colder for Burlington's unhoused, city leaders are asking the state for help

Read the full article at burlingtonfreepress.com. Below is an excerpt.

As temperatures dropped below freezing last week, Burlington organizations banded together to house the city's most vulnerable but are calling upon the state for more help.

Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak and Burlington organizations penned multiple press statements acknowledging the help that is needed by the region's most vulnerable, something they witnessed as emergency shelters were opened over the holidays.

The city decided to open an additional shelter based on a number of factors besides cold weather, including current estimates that indicate upwards of 250 people are sleeping unsheltered in the region; efforts to stand up additional low barrier shelters have been delayed until after the New Year; the state motel program is at capacity with upwards of 350 eligible households unable to get a room.

While efforts to bolster Vermont’s emergency shelter capacity continue, some seasonal shelters are still not up and running.

Burlington mayor and city leaders call on state leaders to take actions

In a joint statement sent out Dec. 24, local organizations along with the mayor's office urged state leaders to take "immediate action to support the rapid creation of additional shelter capacity and prevent deaths due to cold exposure."

Signed by the city of Burlington, Champlain Housing Trust, University of Vermont Medical Center, and Vermont Interfaith Action, the statement said that no organization can work on this crisis alone.