January 30, 2013; Kathryn Flagg; Seven Days
Markley believes most nonprofits agree that it’s time to come up with alternatives — and DCF apparently wants to hear them. They’re issuing a request for proposals in February or March to solicit ideas in the three communities where motel spending is highest: Burlington, Brattleboro and Rutland. Markley is still drawing up plans, but says COTS has something in mind that could reduce motel spending in Chittenden County by about 40 percent, which could instead be used to build transitional housing.
That’s already happening elsewhere. Massachusetts plans to phase out its own controversial emergency shelter program — which places around 1700 homeless families in motels — by June 30, 2014. In its place, the state is beefing up programs to prevent families from becoming homeless in the first place. Gov. Deval Patrick increased funding thirtyfold for a residential assistance program — to $8.7 million. The program provides flexible financial assistance up to $4000 over the course of a year to help families stay in their homes.
Massachusetts also plans to build 1000 new units of supportive housing, where residents would have access to childcare, job training and therapy. Meanwhile, in the run-up to its June 2014 goal, the state is tightening eligibility requirements for its motel program. One new requirement insists that recipients must be Massachusetts residents in order to qualify for assistance.
The Massachusetts model is the inspiration behind a bill coauthored by Ashe and Sen. Sally Fox (D-Chittenden), which Ashe hopes to introduce in the next few weeks. Following the Massachusetts example, he envisions shifting resources to improve up-front services to keep people in their homes. He’d rather see the money invested in longer-term solutions, including temporary housing that might include counseling, training and other supportive services.
“The equation changes,” says Ashe. “It’s not, ‘Oh, you’ve got a problematic situation. OK, we’ll put you up in a dingy motel room.’ It’s, ‘You’ve got a problem, and we want to help you.'"