Vermont

Gov. Phil Scott’s shelter plan met with relief and skepticism – VTDigger

Published

1 year ago

October 18, 2024

Gov. Phil Scott’s shelter plan met with relief and skepticism – VTDigger

The former Vermont State Police barracks building in Williston, photographed Oct. 17, 2024. Photo by April McCullum/Vermont Public

This story, by Report for America corps member Carly Berlin, was produced through a partnership between VTDigger and Vermont Public.

Some service providers and municipal leaders are suggesting that the Gov. Phil Scott administration’s plan to assemble three family shelters in state-owned buildings amounts to too little, too late.

For weeks, local officials, lawmakers, and service providers have been pushing the administration to intervene on behalf of the more than 1,000 people who have lost their shelter through the state’s motel voucher program over the last month.

Among the many Vermonters who had called on Scott to intervene, some expressed gratitude at the news of the new shelters this week. But some have cautioned that these shelters won’t meet the need.

“This has been entirely predictable since the legislation was signed by the governor,” said Frank Knaack, the executive director of the Housing and Homelessness Alliance of Vermont. “We knew that these dates were coming for months. Providers have been asking the governor for months to do something about it.”

The state has not yet lined up service providers to operate the shelters, to be located at the Waterbury Armory, the former State Police barracks in Williston, and a thus far undetermined location in Montpelier. Officials are aiming to open the first two sites by Nov. 1, and said the Montpelier site will likely take longer to open.

Julie Bond, executive director of Good Samaritan Haven – the primary shelter provider in Washington County – said the organization has been in talks with state officials for the last several days about operating the Montpelier site. Good Sam doesn’t currently operate family shelters, and making the call on whether the organization has capacity to step in is “a major decision,” she said.

“I’m very heartened by the opportunities and the thinking about increasing shelter capacity,” Bond said. But creating a new shelter that meets the standards she would expect will take time – creating one in a matter of weeks isn’t realistic, she said.

“We still need an even quicker solution to house people in the immediate term, and that just simply means keeping the motels fully operational without the 80-day-cap until we can do this correctly,” Bond said, referring to a new time limit on voucher stays that has resulted in the current wave of evictions.

The 80-day time limit, along with an 1,100-room cap on the motel program, will both be lifted during the winter months, beginning Dec. 1. But facing a severe housing shortage and a lack of family shelters, some families evicted from the motel program this fall have had little option but to pitch tents outdoors – a situation that has become increasingly dire as temperatures drop.

Some families had been camping at Burlington’s North Beach Campground, where the city opened tent sites for families leaving nearby motels. But the city closed that campground for the season on Tuesday Oct. 15, leaving families further displaced.

“We communicated to the State that we were willing to be partners and would consider extending the closure of North Beach campground if the State offered a firm plan to provide an indoor shelter alternative,” Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak said in a written statement. “As of October 15 at 12:00 PM, when North Beach closed, no tangible State plan for alternative shelter was shared with the City.”

Sarah Russell, the city’s special assistant to end homelessness and co-chair of the Chittenden County Homeless Alliance, said she had spoken to state officials about the possibility of using the barracks as a shelter in the last month, but the news Tuesday afternoon that the state planned to move forward with it came as a surprise.

“We had no idea what was going to happen,” Russell said. “I was shocked to see that Williston was – you know, that they were moving forward with that location.”

The Department for Children and Families has not provided numbers on how many families the three shelter sites will be able to accommodate. At a Wednesday press conference, Scott said the shelters will differ from the large, congregate shelters the state stood up last spring, and will provide private spaces for individual families.

The municipalities slated to host these shelters have had varied responses.

The town of Waterbury has signaled its pushback. A statement from the town, shared by its zoning administrator, Mike Bishop, on Wednesday, says the town had not been contacted by the state about this latest attempt to use the Armory building as a homeless shelter. The state can do so now only if it uses state employees to staff it, the letter says – if officials want to use a third-party, they will need to seek a new zoning permit.

Bill Fraser, the city manager for Montpelier, said the city learned about the state’s plans to open a family shelter there through news reports over the last several days. The city doesn’t yet know what site is under consideration, he said.

“We certainly support having more shelter space in the city. It’s a huge need,” Fraser said. On Sept. 18, one day before people sheltered through the motel program began exhausting their 80 days, Fraser led a group of municipal officials calling on the state to open up state-owned buildings for temporary shelters and to oversee sanctioned encampments on state land.

“You would have thought that having additional shelter spaces, or whatever alternative was going to be available for people, would have been in place and functional by Sept. 19,” Fraser said. “Not, you know, we’re trying to figure it out here on Oct. 15th or 16th or 17th.”

Williston Town Manager Erik Wells said officials from the Agency of Human Services reached out to him several weeks ago to relay that they were considering using the former police barracks site as a shelter. He took a tour of the site with state staff last week.

The town is supportive of the state’s effort, he said. “These are our fellow Vermonters that are in need of assistance right now, families with children as we’re entering the cold winter months. I mean, we had our first 30 degree day this morning.”

His message to the town has been one of “asking people to join me in welcoming families to the community, and working to build a supportive and compassionate social infrastructure to assist.”

State lawmakers – many of whom voted in favor of the state budget, the legislation that has resulted in the motel evictions – had also called on Scott to intervene.

“I think the governor has finally done the right thing here – but, again, late in coming,” said Senate President Pro Tem. Phil Baruth, D/P-Chittenden Central.

In addition to families with children, hundreds of other vulnerable Vermonters were evicted from the program in recent weeks, including elderly people and people with disabilities. Baruth said he had hoped to see Scott’s administration exercise more flexibility when implementing the law.

“It has been my understanding that the American Disabilities Act and other legislation gives the administration space for discretion where the disabled are concerned,” he said.

Everyone already in the motel program this summer and fall met vulnerability criteria previously set by the state. Lawmakers missed an opportunity to spell out who was most vulnerable among them and should be prioritized, Baruth said, noting that the Legislature’s partnership with the administration on this issue “has frayed to the point where we find it hard to accept their representations on it.”

“What they’re fixated on is what the governor calls ‘weaning people off the program,’” Baruth said. “And what that means, in effect, is putting them on the street and hoping they go away.”

Scott has emphasized that the cost of the motel voucher program, which greatly expanded due to an influx of federal funds during the pandemic, is unsustainable. Lawmakers passed the current caps on the program in an effort to rein in costs earlier this year.

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Vermont

Resources for families as Vermont National Guard prepares for deployment

Published

6 hours ago

December 24, 2025

Press Room

Resources for families as Vermont National Guard prepares for deployment

MONTPELIER, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44) – Earlier this month, ABC22/FOX44 reported that members of Vermont’s Air National Guard would be sent to the Caribbean to take part in Operation Southern Spear.

Legislators from all three major political parties in Vermont wrote Tuesday about resources available for the families of the members sent out in the field. They said that Maj. Gen. Gregory Knight, Adjutant General of the Vermont National Guard, had officially confirmed the mobilization Monday.

“The uncertainty of a deployment is a stressful time for families, especially during the holiday. We thank our Vermont Guard Members and their families for their service to Vermont and our country. During this time, we encourage Vermonters to check in on their friends and neighbors impacted by this deployment.”

The “central hub” for family support the Vermont National Guard Family Programs Office. Its support line, (888) 607-8773, is available Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with more available at its website at ngfamily.vt.gov.

Families can ask at the support line to be connected with a local volunteer support group as well (include link).

There are also six regional centers across the state in Montpelier, White River Junction, Rutland, South Burlington, Jericho, and St. Albans. The National Guard describes these as “resource and referral experts” that can help families connect with any services they may need.

Information on these is available at their own webpage. https://www.ngfamily.vt.gov/Programs-Services/Military-and-Family-Readiness-Centers/

Other resources include:

The Vermont National Guard Charitable Foundation: (802) 338-3076 or https://vtngcharitable.org/VTNGCF to apply.

Military OneSource, a federal referral program offered nationwide and 24/7: (800) 342-9647, www.militaryonesource.mil

Child and Youth Program Deployment Resources, with tools for children’s resilience during deployments: https://www.ngfamily.vt.gov/Resources/Youth-Deployment-Resources/

Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program, events held mid-deployment for children and families: contact Staff Sgt. Jessica Smith at jessica.m.smith308.mil@army.mil

Vermont 211: https://vermont211.org/

ChildCare Aware: https://www.childcareaware.org/state/vermont/

Hunger Free Vermont: https://www.hungerfreevt.org/

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Vermont

Commentary | Molly Gray: Standing with Afghan allies in Vermont and beyond

Published

18 hours ago

December 23, 2025

Press Room

Commentary | Molly Gray: Standing with Afghan allies in Vermont and beyond

I was a senior in high school when 9/11 happened. I will never forget where I was or how the day unfolded. I wasn’t yet 18, but my entire adult life would be shaped by that event. Soon after, the U.S. invaded Afghanistan, and then Iraq. U.S. involvement in Afghanistan would last 21 years, and at one point Vermont would have the highest per-capita population of servicemembers serving in Afghanistan and Iraq in the nation.

Over the last three years as the Executive Director of the Vermont Afghan Alliance, I’ve met countless veterans, former aid workers, lawyers, contractors, and others who worked in Afghanistan. U.S. efforts focused on everything from counterterrorism and the rule of law to education and agriculture.

During the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, the U.S. evacuated an estimated 125,000 Afghan allies. That was only a fraction of those who had worked with the U.S. government over two decades. An estimated 145,000 Afghans eligible for Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) were left behind, along with countless wives and children. Many men evacuated in 2021 were told to leave their families behind with the promise of reunification within a year, yet separation continues.

The Vermont Afghan Alliance began in 2022 as a scrappy, GoFundMe-funded, volunteer-led effort to help newly arriving Afghans learn to drive and obtain a license. In Vermont, we all know that without a car, employment options shrink quickly. Today, Afghan allies live in more than a dozen towns—from St. Albans to Bennington and Rutland to Hartford—well beyond traditional resettlement hubs like Burlington.

In 2023, I joined the Alliance as an “interim” executive director to help grow and professionalize the organization. While I never worked in Afghanistan, I spent much of my twenties with the International Committee of the Red Cross, promoting U.S. compliance with the Geneva Conventions in Afghanistan, Iraq, and at Guantánamo. My brother served in Iraq, and like so many of my generation, my adult life has been shaped by the so-called “Global War on Terror.”

I felt a deep responsibility to a community that had risked so much in support of U.S. missions abroad. I also felt a strong sense of Vermont’s hospitality—that if you welcome someone into your home, at a minimum you provide food, shelter, and safety. Finally, as someone long concerned about our demographics, the truth is simple: we are not going to birth our way out of our workforce crisis. The solution lies in welcoming people—and their talents—from across the country and the world.

Since 2023, the Alliance, together with community partners, has welcomed and served an estimated 650 Afghan allies statewide with employment, driving lessons, housing assistance, immigration legal services, civic education, health programming, and more. We’ve partnered with dozens of employers across northern Vermont eager to hire Afghan allies and willing to make small workplace adjustments. Through our driving program alone, more than 60 individuals have passed the Vermont road test. From manufacturing to healthcare, education to commercial truck driving, Afghan allies are filling high-demand jobs, strengthening our rural economy, and enriching our communities.

A recent USCRI policy report found that Afghan allies nationwide have contributed an estimated $1.79 billion in local, state, and federal taxes, including contributions to Medicare and Social Security. Contrary to harmful rhetoric, Afghan allies are not a “drain” on the system—their contributions far outweigh the short-term support provided during resettlement.

A damaging narrative suggesting Afghan allies are “unvetted” or pose a security risk to this country is circulating from Washington. In reality, those fleeing the Taliban are among the most thoroughly vetted individuals in this country—they were screened during employment with the U.S. government, during immigration processing, and again with every status adjustment.

Afghan allies are our neighbors, friends, and colleagues. At the Alliance, the majority of staff and board members are Afghan allies themselves—thoughtful, courageous, emerging leaders raised in an Afghanistan backed by the U.S. They understand, as deeply as we do, the hope and possibility that come with a free and democratic society. I’ve been inspired daily by what these young leaders have achieved for Vermont and the talents they’ve already contributed to our state.

I’ll soon step back from the Alliance to make space for new leadership and a new chapter for the organization. What began as an interim role became far more meaningful than I ever expected. As for what’s next, I hope to bring what I’ve learned back into state government, where I can have a broader impact as we continue to address our demographic crisis and the policies coming from Washington.

To the state and local leaders, community partners, and volunteers I’ve had the opportunity to work alongside over the last few years—thank you. I’m inspired and amazed by what we can accomplish when we pool our resources and talents around a common purpose. I’m excited for the Alliance’s next chapter and for all we can continue to achieve for our newest neighbors and Vermont.

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Vermont

Vt. man with lengthy criminal history sentenced for domestic assault

Published

1 day ago

December 23, 2025

Press Room

Vt. man with lengthy criminal history sentenced for domestic assault

BENNINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – A Bennington man with a lengthy criminal history was sentenced on Monday on aggravated domestic assault charges.

Max Misch, the once self-described white nationalist who has made headlines before for hate crime and gun charges, will spend six months in jail with credit for time served and two years on probation for domestic assault.

He pleaded guilty to the charge last month after authorities said he admitted to hitting a woman he knew.

His conditions of probation include avoiding contact with his victim and not possessing any deadly weapons.

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