State housing aid comes with a catch

by Sylvia C. Dodge

This is a story of the consequences for school-age children when a family finds itself homeless in Orleans County, where there is no homeless shelter and where only one motel with limited rooms participates in the state’s emergency shelter program.

The names of the people who have shared their story with the Chronicle have not been used to protect their privacy.  Theirs is the story of a family – a woman, her partner, a toddler, and a child who is a high school senior.

Up until the weather became cold, around Thanksgiving, the family had essentially been living out of a van — but with the onset of winter, the mother sought help and the family was offered shelter in a motel.  The family’s housing was made available through the emergency voucher program administered by the Vermont Department of Children and Families.