Submitted by DHallFan169 t3_zawlx4 in vermont
mr_perry_walker t1_iyotc58 wrote
I am mixed on this. First off, there is no excuse fo' us as a society to allow folks to be unhoused. That said, the hotel housing program as it exists leaves much to be desired. The lack of oversight has turned, at least some of them, into drug dens. I have lived near a hotel in Rutland for over ten years with no issue. In the past year I have had to pick up used syringes from my yard, my car has been broken into, a sweatshirt and knife related to a robbery stashed on my property...
I know that the program is helping a lot of cats down on their luck and just icing it is not the answer, but the way it is playin' out isn't it either. No matter what they do there should be something in place before they just toss the good with the bad back to the streets.
I hope this doesn't come off sounding too "not in my backyard". Fuck poverty.
headgasketidiot t1_iyp06lp wrote
No you're right the hotel program sucks. Hotels aren't a substitute for a house even when they're well maintained, and at this point it's well documented that these guests are not being treated well at these places. Paying hotel owners gobs of money so our fellow Vermonters who need our help can live in inadequate housing, without kitchens, and often without access to transportation is a shitty program. It's LOADS better than not helping them, but it's not the kind of environment that poor woman in the article needs. She's been through a lot and deserves better.
What bothers me so much about it is how expensive it is. I'm for doing the right thing even when it costs money, but in this case, it's not even the financially responsible decision. The state could actually invest money in building houses and let folks stay for free and the paypack period at these hotel rates wouldn't even be that long.
Me_Myself_And_IAM t1_iyut6c5 wrote
I live in Montpelier central.
There’s a small tent community off the bike path near the bus station. I live very close by, and I’m always smelling the fire wood they burn to keep warm.
It reminds me that if my disability status were to be gone, I could end up camping there some day.
The basic human right to receive shelter seems to be under addressed by our Republican governor (who keeps getting voted back in).
I cannot find a a well paying job because of the lack of public transit, and I worry about my future.
I read a portion of these comments, and I live in a rent reduced apartment. I am super grateful. I do not have an arrest record either, nor have I ever been addicted to drugs. I do not consider myself a “degenerate” either. I am college educated too.
My point is: I talk to many of these people every day. Few to none of them are “degenerates”. I am getting frustrated with all the virtue signaling. When the only signaling I see is entitled people giving a finger to the poor.
headgasketidiot t1_iyxqfsa wrote
I'm totally with you, friend. A lot of people seem to forget that most of us are just one accident, crisis, or diagnosis away from being desperate. It's disheartening to read people actively stigmatize our friends and neighbors. I hope they learn to have a bit of humility, though I hope they're never forced to learn it the hard way.
thisoneisnotasbad t1_iyqog9l wrote
Just so you know. It’s not “gobs” but it is consistent money. The state will pay a fraction of market rate but generally agree to keep the hotel a certain percent filled so you get 50% of your normal rate but always have 50% occupancy which in VT is a good deal for these aging and less often used Hotels.
lantonas t1_iyt0hnj wrote
> and at this point it's well documented that these guests are not being treated well at these places.
Free maid service is poor treatment?
[deleted] t1_iyrcr79 wrote
You’re so close to getting the point… pull on that thread a little longer and you’ll realize this program was designed to be corporate welfare. The unhoused people were just a means to an end. The government didn’t give a shit about them. They just wanted to fill hotel rooms with human cattle so the hotel owners would “contribute” to their “campaign” (read: bribery). It got them some brownie points with the more gullible progressives.
If they could’ve gotten away with just giving these hoteliers millions per month without helping the homeless, make no mistake, they would have. Politicians have nothing but hatred and contempt for the poor. It’s a bipartisan consensus!
> The United States is also a one-party state but, with typical American extravagance, they have two of them.
Most of the programs for the homeless are like this. Million dollar per unit SROs in Los Angeles… I’m sorry but this really isn’t hard. We need to build public housing projects again. The private sector’s thieving hands cannot be allowed anywhere near it. They managed to solve this problem in the 1960s when everyone had lead poisoning. What excuse do we have? Is neoliberalism is more neurotoxic than lead? Does it literally smoothen the brain?
headgasketidiot t1_iyrmvza wrote
There's really no need to be so condescending. I know that's what's happening. Enough of my comments are already anti-capitalist rants that sometimes I decide to spice it up and criticize specific policies on their own terms. What frustrates me so much about this program is that it's both excessively neoliberal and objectively a failure even within that bean counting, neoliberal framework that increasingly dominates every aspect of our lives.
Did you know that they don't just means-test it, but the means-tesitng depends on the month and the weather?
>Last year, under pressure to let hundreds of Vermonters experiencing homelessness who had been booted from a pandemic-era assistance program back into motels, the state significantly relaxed the cold-weather rule. Anyone making less than $24,000 a year could seek shelter in motels from Nov. 22, 2021 to March 1, 2022, regardless of the forecast, DCF said at the time.
>This year, the state has made a similar announcement: From Dec. 15 to March 15, 2023, temporary shelter in motels will be available no matter the forecast, and can be authorized in increments of up to 30 days.
>But that rule doesn’t kick in for another month. From now until Dec. 15, and again between March 15, 2023 and April 15, 2023, emergency housing for cold weather will be regionally authorized based on strict criteria:
> * Temperatures (or wind chill) must be forecast to dip below 20 degrees Fahrenheit or, > * Temperatures must be forecast to dip below 32 degrees and there must be a greater than 50% chance of precipitation. > * Either condition must be forecast to be met for at least three hours within the hours of 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., based on the town in which DCF’s local district office is located.
Absolute madness. Who even writes this shit? I don't even think I could come up with a better parody of a neoliberal housing program. Are we really asking social workers to refresh the fucking weather forecast over and over to see if their clients can get off the street for the night? Incredible.
Loud_Geologist_7172 t1_iytxk8u wrote
We do need to invest in mixed income multifamily housing projects again, yes.
Necessary_Cat_4801 t1_izbrdw1 wrote
This is so hilariously off base. When was this "corporate welfare" program created, oh wise one?
No-Ganache7168 t1_iyp29oz wrote
Not at all. Think of the homeless low income moms who are stuck in the same hotels as heroin users and criminals. They should not be housed together.
[deleted] t1_iyroh8f wrote
You know what else is full of criminals and drug abusers? Every fucking neighborhood in America. The rich housewives of Greenwich pop enough Xanax bars to kill a horse, while their husbands rob us all on Wall Street. The business criminals are the worst of them all. They drink and drive, they steal, they cheat on their wives openly, they have absolutely no morals whatsoever. They are the worst role models you could ever provide a child.
Want a more quaint, rural, quiet life? Well, if your kids go on Darrell’s land by mistake, he drinks a fifth of vodka a day and might shoot them for “trespassing.” On the bright side, he can’t aim for shit.
Every neighborhood has its share of degenerates, regardless of class. And as Mr Rogers said, everywhere you go, look for the helpers, they’re there too. Everyone has a human right to housing.
Decembergardener t1_iyp7ov0 wrote
Think of all the kids.
sorrycharlie88 t1_iyqotm2 wrote
Same situation if they live in section 8 housing. Low income affordable housing means you live in clos proximity to degenerates, it's pretty unavoidable.
Ambitious_Ask_1569 t1_iyq95df wrote
Ooh....not at all. I wish you were old enough to have known Burlington back in the day where nobody locked their house doors or cars and could streak through city hall park.amd hit Nectar up for a Phish set and some gravy fries... Or maybe see the dead in hardwick. You kids dont have a clue how burlington has fallen..
thisoneisnotasbad t1_iyqolt3 wrote
Gravy fries at midnight from the window after an amazing show at Nectars.....It was a good time to experience Burlington for sure.
Ambitious_Ask_1569 t1_iysd4mh wrote
I remember standing in line and Nectar was rocking the window. Anyway, this hot girl a few people in front of me got her order and being...not so hot...proceeded to put them in her purse. She wanted to 'save them for back at the dorm.'
They probably weren't as good as they were hot the night before. Must have done a number on her Razr.
Me_Myself_And_IAM t1_izc7k5j wrote
You just described why people started locking their doors. I would too if I saw some drunken Phish fan, naked and running through the streets.
Ambitious_Ask_1569 t1_ize2rpz wrote
Burlington used to do 2 naked road races and a naked bike ride. Bike ride was a blast. Both were sanctioned by city hall.
In the 25 years I lived in BTown there were no shootings, stabbings or needles on the streets.
Such a beautiful town to go to shit so quickly.
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