Campground Housing Is Not Ideal, but It Beats Living on the Streets
2021-07-24
Homelessness is a serious problem in the United States, even in smaller states like Vermont. The homeless population has increased since last year due to the COVID-19 crisis. At any time in the state of Vermont, there are over 1,100 people that are homeless.
The homeless population in Vermont is growing and it's not just adults that are affected. Many children have been forced into homelessness because their families can't afford to pay rent or live in unsafe conditions.
It's heartbreaking to see kids living without food, shelter, or safety net programs when we know how easy it would be for us to help them out if they were our own family members.
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Since the State of Vermont began closing the homeless motels like the Holiday Inn in South Burlington and the Quality Inn in Rutland, some are wondering where the homeless will turn next in Vermont.
If there were places for homeless families and individuals to go, most of them would be glad to leave the streets behind.
Could campgrounds provide temporary housing for those living on the streets in Vermont while also providing them with job training and other resources to help them transition back into society as productive citizens?
Most campsites offer basic amenities like bathrooms and showers so they can get clean every day when they wake up from their tents at nightfall. In addition to these facilities, campsites often have options in place where homeless individuals could cook meals together using donated ingredients from local grocery stores or farmer's markets.
Pros of allowing the homeless to live in campgrounds
When you have no place to live, it is easier to find a place for your car/RV than a place for yourself. Those that find themselves without a permanent home are just trying to survive like millions of other people in America and the rest of the world. That's all they want - is to find some shelter from the elements and try to get back on their feet once again.
A previous concern when the homeless were housed in hotels in Vermont was the poor condition of the hotels. Whether this was a result of damage done by those living there or due to a lack of maintenance depends on who you speak to. With a campground, the upkeep is less expensive. It's much easier to replace a tent than it is to remodel a room.
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While it would be ideal to have permanent housing available, this can be expensive and takes time to build. A campground would provide seasonal space until other housing could be found.
Ideally, the root cause of homelessness needs to be addressed whether that's substance abuse, mental health issues, or a lack of job training. But, it is at least better than living on the streets.
Social services could set up programs at these campgrounds to help with on-the-job training, GEDs, mental health visits, and more.
Given Vermont's climate, campgrounds can only provide shelter during the warmer months. It's impossible to expect anyone to live in a tent as the weather gets colder. Having an RV could extend this time by a few months if the RV had heat.
Public facilities are limited so a campground could not house anywhere near as many people as a hotel could. The number a campground could help would depend on the available showers, potable water, cooking stations, and sanitation capabilities.
Getting to and from campgrounds could be difficult depending on the location. Many campgrounds in Vermont are away from the main part of town. So, getting back and forth would be more difficult when job hunting or accessing public services.
So, what do you think? Can campgrounds at least provide some assistance to the homeless? Should the State of Vermont provide a stipend to help out?
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no if the states like vermont didn't bring in all the illegal foreigners in and give them free housing and kept it for our people there wouldn't be people or families living on the streets stop letting these illegals in our Country and states and giving them everything start giving our own people everything first we owe nothing to the illegals
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