FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 19, 2024
Contact: Emily Hagan-Howe, Communications Director, ACLU of Vermont, [email protected], 802-223-6304 x121
MONTPELIER, Vt. – As the state continues unsheltering hundreds of Vermonters in the coming weeks—many of them families and people with disabilities—the ACLU has published an open letter to municipal leaders outlining their legal obligations to unhoused community members.
The following statement can be attributed to Lia Ernst, Legal Director of the ACLU of Vermont:
“In the face of a growing homelessness crisis and severe housing shortage, the State’s decision to underfund Vermont’s emergency housing program passes significant responsibilities onto local leaders—including the task of fostering community safety while respecting the rights of everyone who calls their town or city home.
“Criminalizing and dehumanizing people facing homelessness or poverty is not only inhumane—it is also ineffective, and often done in ways that violate our fundamental constitutional rights. We encourage municipal leaders to continue calling on state officials to fund support services for all who need them and to invest in long-term solutions like Housing First policies that provide durable solutions to homelessness in our state.”
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