Vermont caps emergency motel housing for homeless, forcing many to leave this month

This fall, hundreds of the most vulnerable people experiencing homelessness in Vermont must leave state-funded motel rooms where they’ve been living as the state winds down its pandemic-era motel voucher program. The move is prompting outcry from municipal leaders and advocates who say many don’t have a place to go.

The biggest exodus — about 230 households — is expected Thursday when they reach a new 80-day limit stay in the motel rooms that the Legislature imposed starting in July. Those affected include families, people with disabilities, older individuals, those who are pregnant, and people who have experienced domestic violence or a natural disaster such as a fire or a flood.