A Small Victory Worth Celebrating - And Building Upon

Vermonters should allow none of our neighbors to be left without a home, forced to sleep in the woods or in their car. Yet that’s what is happening. Too many community members left behind by our broken system of increasing disparity, tribalism, and divisiveness.

GMJ has been honored to journey with M and E for the past two years. Years of ups, but many more downs. At the end of June, Vermont told M & E they had to leave the motel shelter because with Vermont’s fiscal year ending, their 80 days paid for by the General Assistance Emergency Housing Program were up. Despite having nowhere to go and a list of documented medical needs, they left and moved into their car. Then, they pitched a tent in the woods miles outside town. Their health and finances worsened. But they kept looking for help, seeking a room they could afford on their meager disability checks.

Last week, GMJ accompanied M & E to a hearing with the Vermont Human Services Board (HSB) to advocate for Vermont to re-shelter our unhoused neighbors. In Mid-August, Vermont Legal Aid had won a challenge to the rules that resulted in M & E’s exit from motel shelter. The HSB ordered Vermont to offer M & E motel shelter pending a more complete analysis of their case. For the first time in weeks, M & E experienced something the rest of us too often take for granted. They slept in a real bed inside a room with four walls and a ceiling.

The story of M & E is not unique—it’s Vermont’s story, repeated too often in truck cabs and forest clearings across our state. But it’s also a story of hope, showing what’s possible when we refuse to accept that any neighbor should be left behind. The threads of our Green Mountain fabric are fraying, but they can be rewoven—one relationship, one advocacy effort, one act of solidarity at a time. Green Mountain Justice needs your hands in this work: donate to fuel our direct advocacy efforts, join our Neighbor Care Neighbors program to build meaningful connections with those experiencing homelessness, or simply reach out to discover how your unique gifts can help create the more just Vermont we all deserve. Because when we care, connect, and collaborate together, we don’t just change policies—we save lives.