Shelter officials warn that Vermonters facing an emergency as the season’s first winter storm hits will not have 24/7 access to the state’s 211 call service that connects people with temporary housing.
The state is planning to get 24/7 call access back in the next few days, according Sean Brown, deputy commissioner of the Economic Services Division of the Agency of Human Services.
In the meantime, people who call 211 looking for shelter during regular hours, which have been extended to 10 p.m. on Monday, are being given housing options that extend through Tuesday, Brown said, when storm warnings in the state are expected to end.
“We understand there may be gaps still,” Brown said, “which is why we’re looking to get the 24/7 coverage up and running as soon as possible.”
He couldn’t give more details because a deal with a contractor is still being worked out.
The 211 call system, the state’s multi-purpose human services hotline, operated 24/7 until Oct. 1. After-hours service previously had been outsourced to a call center for $40,000, but that cost skyrocketed to almost $300,000.
Currently, the hotline, operated by the United Ways of Vermont, only takes calls Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. It helps people access shelters with available beds or the state’s temporary hotel voucher program and has an online database of all the shelters available in Vermont.
During these kinds of weather conditions, Rita Markley, executive director of the Committee on Temporary Shelter in Burlington, said she considers this lack of 24/7 service an emergency. She said she’s bracing for a “tragedy.”
“Single adults will decide that they’re going to camp out and tough it out,” Markley said. “Then they realize, at 10 o’clock at night, ‘Oh man this wind is more than I thought it would be. My tent isn’t keeping the snow or the ice out. I’m not going to make it and I need to get inside.’”
“And the one resource that would’ve connected them to a safe, overflow option isn’t available,” Markley said. “So we’re very, very worried with this storm.”
Stephannie Peters, executive director of the Bennington County Coalition for the Homeless, said that since 211 lost its 24/7 access, it’s been difficult finding information for people in need of housing when her shelter becomes full.
The Bennington County coalition was not aware that 211 was losing 24/7 service until the day it was cut off on Oct. 1, Peters said. This has also caused considerable frustration and confusion among her staff and the people who are looking for emergency housing.
“The suddenness is as alarming as the ultimate result,” Peters said. “We were not able to prepare for this.”
