The Rutland County Housing Coalition thinks it could be a homeless shelter.
Executive Director Deborah Hall writes:
The Rutland County Housing Coalition works with families and individuals who are either at risk of homelessness or experiencing homelessness in Rutland County. Homeless? In Rutland? Yes, unfortunately families can end up living in hotels. While this may be better than having no shelter at all, we believe we can do better. From July 1 through June 30, 2011 Vermont spent over one million dollars on temporary shelter, with approximately $280,000 of that being spent on temporary shelter in Rutland County.
Placing families in hotels is not a long-term healthy solution to homelessness and can hide the extent of the issue from the general public. Think about a family living in one room with no way to prepare healthy meals or any of the other tasks most of us take for granted. The trauma of such an experience can be long-lasting. Hotels may be a great place to stay but not a great place to live.
Our thoughts have been to use the Armory as a true coalition of service providers to host and support these families. In addition to utilizing our tax dollars in a more constructive way, we can demonstrate our commitment to a healthy and safe community by supporting those less fortunate than ourselves. If we have learned anything from our experience with Irene it is just how strong our community is and how much of a difference we can make.
We'll see who else turns up at the meeting tonight. Watch this space!
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