Jonathan Moulin, shelter coordinator at the Good Samaritan Haven, prepares the former Elks Club in Montpelier for use as an emergency winter shelter. Photo by Meredith Warner/The Montpelier BridgeThis story by Cassandra Hemenway was first published in The Bridge on Oct. 9The Good Samaritan Haven and others who work with unhoused people are sounding the alarm: As hundreds of people throughout Vermont continue to lose eligibility to stay sheltered in state-funded motel rooms, there won’t be enough space in its shelters to handle those in need. And that means even more people are likely to be camping out or living in vehicles. Good Samaritan opened its emergency winter shelter at the former Montpelier Elks Club on Oct. 1. But its three other year-round shelters are continually full, and the 20-bed Elks Club winter shelter has seen six to nine guests a night since it opened, according to Good Samaritan executive director Julie Bond. She expects it to fill soon, as a second wave of people are forced out of state-funded motel rooms this week and she is seeking community donations to help people remain housed in motels.Doing Triage“This is an emergency,” said Bond in an Oct. 4 press release. “We’re doing triage to ensure that people with the most urgent and complex needs, who have nowhere else to go, remain sheltered and supported. For many, this isn’t just about having a roof over their heads — it’s about staying connected to critical services that are only accessible with stable housing. A visiting nurse can’t come to bathe you or dress your wounds if you are unsheltered. A person on oxygen cannot plug into electricity in the middle of the woods. The emergency is created, Bond said in a telephone interview with The Bridge, because of new  restrictions to the state’s General Assistance Emergency Housing program (also called the motel program). The Vermont legislature last year tightened eligibility criteria for the program, limiting the number of rooms it will fund from 1,400 to 1,100, and capping the number of days an individual can stay in a motel at 80. In the meantime, Vermont now has the second highest number of unhoused persons per capita in the country according to a 2023 Homelessness Assessment Report published by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. And this June a new count showed the number has increased from 2023, to 3,458 people, a 5% increase over the year prior, and a 300% increase over pre-COVID levels, according to a 2024 report from the Chittenden County Homeless Alliance and the Housing and Homeless Alliance of Vermont.The state’s new motel restrictions went into place at the start of the fiscal year, July 1. Eighty days later, in mid-September, the first wave of people who lost their motel rooms because of the new restrictions had to move. About 100 of those were in central Vermont. READ MORE Of those who lost their motel rooms in September, Bond said most found some alternative either in one of Good Samaritan Haven’s shelters, or elsewhere. But, in the Barre/Berlin/Montpelier area, 25 of those people ended up either camping outdoors or living in vehicles; and among those, Bond noted, nine are children who attend local schools.Now, the next wave of people losing motel eligibility is about to hit, Bond said. On Monday, Oct. 7, and again on Friday, Oct. 11, more people will lose motel rooms, and Bond said her focus is simply keeping people alive. Motel room eligibility loosens up for “adverse weather conditions” starting Dec. 1.Raising MoneyIn the Oct. 4 release, Bond put out a call to the community to help. She pointed to a $25,000 seed gift that will provide short-term shelter for nine rooms for high-risk individuals and families.“However, much more support is needed to protect lives and sustain this effort until the state’s winter exception begins on Dec. 1, which will reinstate funding for motel rooms through March 31, 2025,” she said.Bond noted that some of the people who stand to lose motel shelters include “pregnant individuals, families with children, insulin-dependent people, those relying on life-sustaining devices requiring electricity, elderly adults and individuals with severe physical or mental health conditions.”“There are a lot of situations that need electricity, physical supports … in order to stay well, stay alive,” she said. Local faith groups have been “offering mutual aid” with Good Samaritan Haven, the press release noted.“This is clearly not a long-term solution, but for now, we can help reduce harm and provide a measure of stability for some of our neighbors,” said Rev. Joan Javier-Duval of the Unitarian Church of Montpelier.Legislators and service providers have been appealing to the administration of Gov. Phil Scott to address the homelessness crisis in Vermont, including local leaders in Montpelier and Barre in a September press conference. “What we’re trying to do right now is to extend the stays of those who are inordinately complex in their care needs,” Bond said. “It’s a life safety thing. It’s trying to keep those people alive. We’re hoping the community can rally with us to help our neighbors to stay housed.”Read the story on VTDigger here: ‘This is an Emergency’: Good Sam Seeks Donations to Keep People Sheltered; Winter Shelter Opened at Elks Club Oct. 1.