This. I went to a meeting a few years ago where someone asked why some important position in town wasn’t filled. The Selectboard said they couldn’t fill it. The person complained it was important and the Selectboard needed to do something about it. The Selectboard offered it to them then and there. The person said no. They shrugged at them.

Don’t like how your town is run? Run for Selectboard. Volunteer for the zoning board. This place only works if we make it work.

This is a powerful read. More people need to hear your story.

Did you reach out to your state representative and state senators? They keep saying affordable housing is going to be the number one thing this session. They need to hear this so they can make sure that situations such as yours are taken into account when they take this issue up.

Agreed, and it’s part of what makes it such a great article. Housing is incredibly complicated since it’s something that everyone needs no matter who they are or what their ability levels may be. We need to see it in all its complication.

This guy messed up, and he admits that, though perhaps he may have trouble understanding that. He has little to no safety net, a minimal income, and yet needs a place to live like everyone else.

I think you’re right: we need to think about housing more holistically. We need to think about how to support people who may have a diminished capacity, who may be disruptive to the community. Because they all need a place to live, even the most difficult cases, just like everyone else.