Youth push leaders for action on housing

Addie Lentzner speaks during a youth-led press conference on housing. Screengrab.

A Bennington high school student, along with a cadre of fellow youth and several legislators, State’s Attorneys, and other state officials, took state leaders, and specifically Gov. Phil Scott, to task about the state’s growing housing insecurity during a recent press conference.

Vermont’s first youth conference on homelessness was primarily organized by Addie Lentzner, a high school student from Bennington County. Though she was joined and supported by the officials, Lentzner and other high school students remained the central advocates for the duration of the virtual conference.

Lentzner began by sharing the story of a former Bennington resident named Terry who died in February of 2020 due to homelessness and weather conditions on a four-degree night.

Vermont’s frigid winters are fatal for housing insecure people, and Terry’s story is not uncommon. Vermont’s cold-weather exemption program — a state program that ensures housing on exceedingly cold nights — was created in 2012 after a man was found dead curled up near a heating grate in Burlington the previous winter.

“This pandemic was our opportunity to end homelessness in Vermont and we are failing. We should have built housing while the motel program was in place to provide a transition. What if these people don’t make it until the next housing unit is built?...Governor Scott, it is your job to step up and support…or else people will die. People should not be dying so the state can save money,” said Lentzner.

In addition to youth advocates and state officials, residents like Josh Lisenby shared their personal experiences with housing insecurity. Lisenby has been homeless for the past decade. Prior to the pandemic, his most consistent housing option was a warming shelter in Middlebury, he said.

A warming shelter is a building dedicated to keeping people out of the cold overnight. Their doors are typically open from nightfall until dawn. After breakfast, residents must take all of their belongings to a new location until the shelter reopens at dusk.

Lisenby also shared the benefits of having a more stable address thanks to the state’s hotel pandemic program. During that time he was able to accomplish goals like visiting the eye doctor and scheduling appointments with a therapist. Lisenby’s one recommendation to legislators addressed the lack of checks and balances within Vermont’s housing system.

“There needs to be some kind of oversight board. The people who are supposed to help us are the ones who are hurting us the most,” he said.

Lisenby is on the “short list” for housing. As he gets help with his anxiety and mental health he hopes to rejoin the workforce. Lisenby said that has always been his hope, but housing barriers have prevented him from reaching that goal.

Erica Jansch, a first-year high school student from Bennington, also shared a passionate plea to Scott.

“In [his] eyes, the threat of COVID-19 is dying out for Vermonters,” Jansch said“However, I can tell you the threat of poverty and homelessness are not going away for Vermont youth and adults.”

State Senator Kesha Ram, D-Chittenden, shared her desire to hold on to a spirit of togetherness born from the pandemic with equitable solutions.

“We have the means and we have the ability to ensure that,” Ram said.

Brenda Siegel, a former candidate for Lieutenant Governor, noted the lack of housing stock as a fundamental issue in Vermont. Siegel also shared her own personal experience with houslessness, unstable living conditions, and state support systems.

“I only ended up not being homeless because of a safety net that others in my situation do not have access to,” Siegel said. Like many others, she also shared a plea for help. “My understanding of war and crisis is that you don’t leave people on the battlefield. Right now, Governor Scott is leaving people on the battlefield.

“To those who are struggling with housing, you did not fail. We did…I cannot imagine having the power to ensure people have housing and are fed and choosing not to use that power,” Siegel said. “Yes, it is just a Band-Aid. And I used those Band-Aids to stop a spiral that could have occurred without those Band-Aids.”

Addison County’s State Attorney Dennis Wygmans echoed Siegel’s sentiment.

“What’s important about a Band-Aid is that it stops the bleeding,” Wygmans said. “We need affordable, stable housing for every Vermonter. It will directly affect the incarceration and recidivism rates.”