Hundreds of lives are at risk as vulnerable individuals and families are forced out of the state-funded motel program for people experiencing homelessness. Good Samaritan Haven is focused on a temporary but critical solution: keeping people alive.
Good Samaritan Haven is urgently appealing for donations to fund motel stays for those at the highest risk of harm if forced outside into a tent: pregnant individuals, families with children, insulin-dependent people, those relying on life-sustaining devices requiring electricity, elderly adults, and individuals with severe physical or mental health conditions.
“This is an emergency,” said Good Samaritan Haven Executive Director Julie Bond. “We’re doing triage to ensure that people with the most urgent and complex needs, who have nowhere else to go, remain sheltered and supported. For many, this isn’t just about having a roof over their heads—it’s about staying connected to critical services that are only accessible with stable housing. A visiting nurse can’t come to bathe you, or dress your wounds, if you are unsheltered. A person on oxygen cannot plug into electricity in the middle of the woods.” Losing shelter creates a catastrophic loss of life-saving services, and disconnects people from their established communities of care.
A generous $25,000 seed gift has been pledged to Good Samaritan Haven, presenting a challenge to the community. This initial donation will provide emergency shelter for nine rooms for high-risk individuals and families. However, much more support is needed to protect lives and sustain this effort until the State’s winter exception begins on December 1, which will reinstate funding for motel rooms through March 31, 2025.
In the Barre-Montpelier area alone, 25 individuals have been displaced by the room caps imposed by the state-funded motel program, with 15 now living in tents and 10 sleeping in cars. Additionally, Good Samaritan Haven reports that five area families, including nine children, have lost their motel rooms. Three of these families are now in tents, while two are living in cars.
“We’ve seen firsthand the devastating consequences of losing this safety net,” said Bond. “We have been responding to referrals made to End Homelessness Vermont, who provides critical complex care case management for many of the ultra-vulnerable individuals around the state. This has been vital to our ability to identify people whose lives are in grave danger if forced to live outside for any length of time. Just last weekend, we supported a man with a traumatic brain injury who was forced out of his motel room. He requires oxygen 24/7, yet we found him sitting in his truck, without any oxygen and only the clothes on his back. Today, thanks to the tireless efforts of our outreach team, he is back in a motel room, where his basic needs are met, and he is reconnected to the critical care services he relies on.”
While Good Samaritan Haven recognizes this is a temporary solution and very limited in its scope to Washington County, it is nothing short of life-saving for those they serve. “We’re patching together this community response because the state has not stepped in to address this immediate need,” said Bond. “We can’t solve the housing crisis overnight, but we can prevent loss of life.”
Local faith groups are offering mutual aid together with Good Sam. “This is clearly not a long-term solution, but for now, we can help reduce harm and provide a measure of stability for some of our neighbors,” said Rev. Joan Javier-Duval, Unitarian Church of Montpelier.
Donations will not only provide immediate shelter for the ultra-vulnerable individuals exiting the state’s motel program but will also support Good Samaritan Haven’s coordination of essential care for those who rely on them as their last hope for survival. Good Sam is working closely with service providers such as End Homelessness Vermont, the Family Center of Washington County, Capstone Community Action, and Washington County Mental Health Services.
Press Conference on September 25, 2024: Julie Bond offered comments on Act 113, the act that is reducing the state’s motel program, leaving so many people with nowhere to go. You can watch Julie’s speech at the state house given at a joint press conference with End Homelessness Vermont, Housing & Homelessness Alliance of Vermont, ACLU Vermont and Burlington’s Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak.
To make a donation to keep our most vulnerable neighbors sheltered, please visit our donate page or mail a check to Good Samaritan Haven, PO Box 1104, Barre, VT 05641.