Montpelier PEN UPDATE 6/4/23: The eviction of thousands of homeless Vermonters from motels has begun

Although PEN is indeed on hiatus, it is impossible for me not to update readers on the shameless events that are now taking place. Read it and weep. 

Please understand that this didn’t have to happen and that no one’s hands are clean. We are all to blame for this tragic situation.

Nor is it clear how it will end. As far as I can tell, this is now a food fight among the Governor, the legislative “leadership” in both houses, various factions within both houses of the legislature, various heads of state departments and staff of those departments, various regional social service and housing agencies who are always vying for funds, municipal government leaders, the motel owners, and groups (e.g., religious community) and individual members of the public ranging from those who are planning how to help people who will be exited all the way to those to want to see civil disobedience activities at the motels and/or the statehouse.

Everyone wants to blame everyone else and, as usual, the poor and unrepresented are the pawns.

As you read articles written over the past couple of months about this situation, please notice how media accounts and those who are quoted in those accounts make statements that later turn out to be questionable, at best. Food for thought.

The May 28 issue of PEN provided links to articles written up to that day about how the then-upcoming eviction of thousands of homeless Vermonters had evolved. First, though, immediately below, in chronological order,  are some of the latest confusing and confused news accounts published since that 5/28/23issue of PEN. 

Scott veto state budget; lawmakers condemn action, call for unity (Times-Argus, 

5/29)

Now Comes Legal Aid (The Vermont Political Observer, 5/30/23)

Barre puts $29,000 a day price for housing shelter at BOR (Times-Argus, 

5/30/23)

Smaller Vermont Towns Watching Homeless Situation (Times-Argus, 5/31/23)

Council welcomes motel reprieve, questions how to handle homeless (Times-Argus, 5/31/23)

Vermont Legal Aid sues state to halt evictions from motel program (VTDigger, 5/31/23)

Judge denies effort to delay evictions from motel program (VTDigger, 6/1/23)

Evictions are set to begin for people in Vermont’s motel housing program (Vermont Public, 6/1/23) 

Vermonters Leave Hotels as Judge Refuses to Block Evictions  (Seven Days, 6/1/23)

After last ditch legal effort fails, hundreds of unhoused vermonters are evicted from motel program (VTDigger, 6/1/23)

Day One: Not as Immediately Disastrous as Feared, but Needlessly Chaotic and Destructive.  (The Vermont Political Observer, 6/1/23)

It’s Impossible, Except that it’s Not (The Vermont Political Observer, 6/2/23)

"This is really happening" Tweet from Brenda Siegel, 6/2/23

With Every Passing Day, Vermont’s Disgrace Gets Worse  (The Vermont Political Observer, 6/3/23)