Witnesses tell House Human Services H.91 must address big gaps in shelter capacity and eligibility

Members of the House Human Services Committee heard two witnesses on Feb. 21 about House Bill 91, the proposed law on an emergency temporary shelter program, and how it would affect municipalities and providers across Vermont.

Sarah Russell, special assistant to end homelessness for the City of Burlington and co-chair of the Chittenden County Homeless Alliance, told the committee she sees “positive changes” in H.91 but said the bill does not incorporate several recommendations from the GA task force and leaves important details to administrative rule.

Russell highlighted changes she supports — expanded adverse-weather shelter eligibility, new Agency of Human Services reporting obligations and a requirement that households may remain in shelter while an appeal is pending — but raised multiple concerns about the current draft. She said the bill does not clearly state whether households must meet categorical eligibility for seasonal shelter, omits discussion of income contributions, and replaces “pregnant person” protections from the task force report with a narrower “third trimester” reference in the draft. Russell urged that task-force eligibility language around protections for survivors of domestic violence be incorporated into statute rather than left for rule.

Russell described acute local strain in Chittenden County…