ACLU warns H.594 would shrink emergency shelter access; urges independent study before cuts

Alex Grimbliss, a policy advocate with the ACLU of Vermont, told the House Human Services Committee on Jan. 30 that H.594, as drafted, would reduce Vermont's emergency shelter capacity without an adequate replacement and could increase unsheltered homelessness across the state.

"Homelessness is a housing problem," Grimbliss said, summarizing the ACLU's analysis that a shrinking supply of rental housing — including a reported drop in vacancy rates from 4.5% to 2.1% — is a principal driver of rising homelessness. Grimbliss said median rents in Vermont rose roughly 34% between 2019 and 2024 and that private‑market rentals affordable to the lowest‑income Vermonters have largely disappeared.

The ACLU argued the General Assistance (GA) emergency housing benefit has long served as a critical backstop and that the committee should not cut shelters absent equivalent alternative…