BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Many shelters for homeless youth are at capacity and often those folks don’t meet the criteria to get into state emergency housing programs. However, Vermont organizations say they are working to expand their services to meet the growing need.
With a frigid weekend ahead, shelters like the one at Spectrum Youth and Family Services in Burlington are ready to help young people.
“This is the first year we have been able to open that up and operate it year-round, which is really exciting to be able to meet that need in the community,” said Specturm’s Christina Brown.
In the last year or so, she says they have seen so much demand that their night shelter has been full, prompting them to add more beds. “They have full-time employment, they are pursuing education, they have supports in the community. It’s just really hard to find an affordable place to live in Burlington. So, it’s hard to get that leg up.”
Brown says there are upwards of 30 individuals using their services right now. The Chittenden County Homeless Alliance’s Sarah Russell says the number that need permanent housing is even greater. “Forty-six youth who are homeless in Chittenden County, and the majority of those folks are sheltered within the Spectrum low-barrier shelter system. We have seen that go back down. We started to see it come back up, now we are seeing that go back down again,” she said.
despite the fluctuations, providers are trying to find ways to bridge the gap so that youth are considered in more programs around Vermont, where state officials estimate there was a total 76 homeless youth last year.
Youth that don’t have any sort of disability or documented disability are left off of the lists in accessing emergency housing, right. So, 19 to 24, even if you’re living unsheltered, you wouldn’t meet a specific need to get in that program,” said the Alliance’s Taylor Thibault.
The state has formed a homeless task force to look at the general assistance emergency housing program to see what it lacks. Officials on that task force say — youth are at the forefront of their minds.
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