BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) “Right now, I’m stuffing my hands up into my jacket just trying to hold a sign so I can make a few bucks so I can eat tomorrow,” said Mandy, who identifies as homeless.
Mandy sleeps on the streets of Burlington.
Reporter Tyler Dumont: Why not go to a shelter?
Mandy: Because of the anxiety. And it’s all full anyway. They’re all full.
Mandy is right. Friday afternoon, we called all of Burlington’s shelters including COTS, Spectrum and the low-barrier Winter Warming Shelter run by Community Health Centers. And with temperatures projected to be near zero overnight with wind chills, they all told us they were at max capacity.
Tyler Dumont: So if someone is out there in the cold, are they going to be turned away?
Rita Markley/COTS: No. They’re not going to be turned away without an option. So, when we can’t find an immediate bunk, we’ll find what’s called an emergency placement.
An emergency placement is typically a state-paid voucher for local motels. But Mandy tells us getting to and from those spots can be unpredictable.
“I don’t know if I’m going to be put in Winooski or way down on Shelburne Road,” she said.
Others say they’re willing to face the risk and fight the fierce temperatures.
Tyler Dumont: When it gets this cold, what changes for you?
Jason Ploof/Homeless: A lot, a lot. In terms of what do we have to survive for the night? What do we need to have? You know, multiple sleeping bags, mats to keep yourself off the cardboard to keep yourself off the cement and stuff.
The city recently shut down multiple homeless encampments. The mayor says while some camps typically tend to disappear during the winter due to temperatures, the city has not changed its policy.
“The criteria are pretty clear,” said Mayor Miro Weinberger, D-Burlington. “If we become aware of a public safety issue in an encampment, we feel it’s our responsibility to act. I think you will not see that happen during the cold weather months but it’s not because of the posture changes.”
While beds are fully reserved at the winter warming shelter, they told us that people can still stop by and if someone doesn’t show up by 9 p.m., they will give that reserved bed to someone else.
All the while, the 1% “struggle” to decide which bedroom to sleep in of their five or six mansions. Plenty of money for war and Israel, but not a penny to take care of our own. Hey, here’s a thought! If we deported the millions of illegal aliens in this country, there would be millions more beds!
Something wrong when people born an raised here have no bed an a place to eat an warm up in an yet fence jumper have it made
YA’LL KNOW HOW I FEEL………………………..
BUILD THE JURIES, ISSUE THE WARRANTS, SEND THE MILITIA, ENGAGE THE ENEMY…………………….
“The mayor says while some camps typically tend to disappear during the winter due to temperatures, the city has not changed its policy.”
POLICY.
“If we become aware of a public safety issue in an encampment, we feel it’s our responsibility to act.”
Which is exactly why WE feel it’s OUR responsibility to to HANG YOU POS COMMIE TRAITORS!!!!!
As much as you guys piss me off on some issues this one I can agree on. I’ve never seen Americans so brutal to their own as I’ve seen where I live and I’m sure its the same elsewhere.
Good Luck with this government of ours. 8 years of Obama and policies and discussions about transgenders / 2+2=5 common core / Russia Russia Russia every night with no solid proof. URANIUM ONE highest of treason. Hillary buying the freakin’ DNC outright and chasing the origins of a golden shower dossier into the millions of dollars while homeless veterans sleep hungry on the street. The apathy and complacency is so horrid it’s amazing the 2nd Amendment hasn’t been given up yet.
churches and church goers……..all talk all show….hand over their money to another corporation that doesn’t care one bit for a man’s soul