This is a sad story that speaks to more than the housing shortage. He is a disabled veteran with substance abuse disorder, unable to support himself due to health issues and lack of skills, and he doesn’t seem to understand that tenants can be asked to follow certain rules. He needs housing but he also needs health care, substance abuse counseling and help navigating life as a successful renter

Honestly what do you do? The housing situation has been getting worse for 20 years at least right?

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.

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Build more pods. 🙄😓

Amen to all of this. One of my biggest problems with the GOP. Only place to live they are giving away is in a jail cell.

> they are giving away is in a jail cell

Considering most prisons you have to pay for the "privilege"; not even that is free anymore.

Yes. The GOP is responsible for landlords in DEEP blue Vermont...

The problem is lack of freedom. The govt actively prevents people from living off the land, from finding a spot and building a place to live. The excuses vary from case to case, but at the core is intolerance and a refusal to leave others alone.

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This guy used to be my neighbor. He once barged into my house drunk, through the front door while I was at work, and started yelling at my girlfriend because he didn’t like the plumber that was working in my basement. He’s not a bad guy, but definitely a tough neighbor. Hope he is able to find some housing though.

I do not think this is entirely the case. Living off the land is great and all, however people doing this still need to respect pollution and safety laws

Obviously that is not what was implied.

Are you saying the solution is that people pony up $50k to buy an acre of land somewhere, more money to build a shelter, then proceed to hunt and garden for all of their food needs? Most land in Vermont is privately owned. The rest is state owned (state forests, etc.) Also, living off the land in a state with cold winters is especially difficult.

I always hear about how grumpy Dan is, but when I went homeless in St Albans, he tried his hardest to get me into the shelter and hooked me up with a whole bunch of supplies. He introduced me to so many people and had so many resources to share.

It's NIMBYism, where the same folks who complain about the limited housing supply also work against solutions for housing by pushing after policies that disencentive developers from developing.

Maybe housing shouldn't be a commodity, eh?

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The article mentioned Pathways a lot and implied that they weren't helpful.

Is there any insight on that? Is it that housing is in such short supply so organizations like Pathways is hamstrung? Is it that they too are suffering from staffing?

It seemed to me that the subject of the article needs a caseworker, someone to empower him but also be a handholder while he gets the help he needs. But if anyone has more insight on Pathways I'm curious how they have or have not helped in the past.

Bullshit. This line of thinking is incredibly ignorant. Housing without stipulations has no place in society. It lacks accountability. It also has proven unsuccessful.