Vermont legal aid warns funding cuts would force staff reductions and curb eviction, housing-discrimination work

Vermont Legal Aid and Legal Services Vermont told a legislative committee on Feb. 21 that expiring grants and possible federal funding restrictions could force layoffs and sharply reduce legal services for low-income Vermonters, especially in eviction and housing-discrimination cases.

The presenters said federal sources account for more than one-third of their combined budgets and that the organizations are asking the legislature for $1.6 million in state support to sustain core services. “If we actually lost the one-third funding, for us, it would be catastrophic. I think the math would be approximately 20 FTEs,” said Yasmeen Zidar Sheher, executive director of Vermont Legal Aid.

Why it matters: The organizations described several housing-focused programs that are ending or at risk, including the Homeowner Legal Assistance Program (funding ended December 2024), the Housing for Everyone law project (HELP), whose funding is scheduled to terminate in July 2025, and the Housing Discrimination Law Project (HDLP), which presenters said faces likely termination or substantial delay. Those reductions, they warned, would coincide with…