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headgasketidiot t1_iyp06lp wrote

Reply to comment by mr_perry_walker in Advocates sound alarm over end of hotel housing program by DHallFan169

No you're right the hotel program sucks. Hotels aren't a substitute for a house even when they're well maintained, and at this point it's well documented that these guests are not being treated well at these places. Paying hotel owners gobs of money so our fellow Vermonters who need our help can live in inadequate housing, without kitchens, and often without access to transportation is a shitty program. It's LOADS better than not helping them, but it's not the kind of environment that poor woman in the article needs. She's been through a lot and deserves better.

What bothers me so much about it is how expensive it is. I'm for doing the right thing even when it costs money, but in this case, it's not even the financially responsible decision. The state could actually invest money in building houses and let folks stay for free and the paypack period at these hotel rates wouldn't even be that long.

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Me_Myself_And_IAM t1_iyut6c5 wrote

I live in Montpelier central.

There’s a small tent community off the bike path near the bus station. I live very close by, and I’m always smelling the fire wood they burn to keep warm.

It reminds me that if my disability status were to be gone, I could end up camping there some day.

The basic human right to receive shelter seems to be under addressed by our Republican governor (who keeps getting voted back in).

I cannot find a a well paying job because of the lack of public transit, and I worry about my future.

I read a portion of these comments, and I live in a rent reduced apartment. I am super grateful. I do not have an arrest record either, nor have I ever been addicted to drugs. I do not consider myself a “degenerate” either. I am college educated too.

My point is: I talk to many of these people every day. Few to none of them are “degenerates”. I am getting frustrated with all the virtue signaling. When the only signaling I see is entitled people giving a finger to the poor.

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headgasketidiot t1_iyxqfsa wrote

I'm totally with you, friend. A lot of people seem to forget that most of us are just one accident, crisis, or diagnosis away from being desperate. It's disheartening to read people actively stigmatize our friends and neighbors. I hope they learn to have a bit of humility, though I hope they're never forced to learn it the hard way.

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thisoneisnotasbad t1_iyqog9l wrote

Just so you know. It’s not “gobs” but it is consistent money. The state will pay a fraction of market rate but generally agree to keep the hotel a certain percent filled so you get 50% of your normal rate but always have 50% occupancy which in VT is a good deal for these aging and less often used Hotels.

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lantonas t1_iyt0hnj wrote

> and at this point it's well documented that these guests are not being treated well at these places.

Free maid service is poor treatment?

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[deleted] t1_iyrcr79 wrote

You’re so close to getting the point… pull on that thread a little longer and you’ll realize this program was designed to be corporate welfare. The unhoused people were just a means to an end. The government didn’t give a shit about them. They just wanted to fill hotel rooms with human cattle so the hotel owners would “contribute” to their “campaign” (read: bribery). It got them some brownie points with the more gullible progressives.

If they could’ve gotten away with just giving these hoteliers millions per month without helping the homeless, make no mistake, they would have. Politicians have nothing but hatred and contempt for the poor. It’s a bipartisan consensus!

> The United States is also a one-party state but, with typical American extravagance, they have two of them.

Most of the programs for the homeless are like this. Million dollar per unit SROs in Los Angeles… I’m sorry but this really isn’t hard. We need to build public housing projects again. The private sector’s thieving hands cannot be allowed anywhere near it. They managed to solve this problem in the 1960s when everyone had lead poisoning. What excuse do we have? Is neoliberalism is more neurotoxic than lead? Does it literally smoothen the brain?

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headgasketidiot t1_iyrmvza wrote

There's really no need to be so condescending. I know that's what's happening. Enough of my comments are already anti-capitalist rants that sometimes I decide to spice it up and criticize specific policies on their own terms. What frustrates me so much about this program is that it's both excessively neoliberal and objectively a failure even within that bean counting, neoliberal framework that increasingly dominates every aspect of our lives.

Did you know that they don't just means-test it, but the means-tesitng depends on the month and the weather?

>Last year, under pressure to let hundreds of Vermonters experiencing homelessness who had been booted from a pandemic-era assistance program back into motels, the state significantly relaxed the cold-weather rule. Anyone making less than $24,000 a year could seek shelter in motels from Nov. 22, 2021 to March 1, 2022, regardless of the forecast, DCF said at the time.

>This year, the state has made a similar announcement: From Dec. 15 to March 15, 2023, temporary shelter in motels will be available no matter the forecast, and can be authorized in increments of up to 30 days.

>But that rule doesn’t kick in for another month. From now until Dec. 15, and again between March 15, 2023 and April 15, 2023, emergency housing for cold weather will be regionally authorized based on strict criteria:

> * Temperatures (or wind chill) must be forecast to dip below 20 degrees Fahrenheit or, > * Temperatures must be forecast to dip below 32 degrees and there must be a greater than 50% chance of precipitation. > * Either condition must be forecast to be met for at least three hours within the hours of 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., based on the town in which DCF’s local district office is located.

Absolute madness. Who even writes this shit? I don't even think I could come up with a better parody of a neoliberal housing program. Are we really asking social workers to refresh the fucking weather forecast over and over to see if their clients can get off the street for the night? Incredible.

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Necessary_Cat_4801 t1_izbrdw1 wrote

This is so hilariously off base. When was this "corporate welfare" program created, oh wise one?

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