{"id":4615,"date":"2026-04-01T20:16:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T20:16:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/live-awp-vermont.pantheonsite.io\/?post_type=press_release&#038;p=4615"},"modified":"2026-04-01T20:16:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T20:16:20","slug":"aclu-statement-on-latest-mass-unsheltering-of-vulnerable-vermonters-from-emergency-shelter","status":"publish","type":"press_release","link":"https:\/\/www.acluvt.org\/press-releases\/aclu-statement-on-latest-mass-unsheltering-of-vulnerable-vermonters-from-emergency-shelter\/","title":{"rendered":"ACLU Statement on Latest Mass Unsheltering of Vulnerable Vermonters from Emergency Shelter"},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":""},"class_list":["post-4615","press_release","type-press_release","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"subheading":"ACLU of Vermont Executive Director James Duff Lyall condemns the state\u2019s \"mass unsheltering\" of vulnerable residents and the Scott administration for failing to utilize available funding to address the housing crisis.","date_and_time":"2026-04-01 13:00:00","featured_image":null,"components":[{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":{"text":"The following is a statement from <b>James Duff Lyall, Executive Director at the ACLU of Vermont<\/b>: \r\n\r\n\u201cSadly, we find ourselves faced with another April 1 mass unsheltering of our most vulnerable neighbors by our elected leaders. Year after year, the governor has rejected comprehensive reforms that would address Vermont\u2019s status as a state with one of the highest rates of homelessness in the country. He has blamed everyone but his own administration for that and keeps calling for more cuts to the state\u2019s General Assistance emergency housing program\u2014while offering no alternative solutions that meet the needs of our community.\r\n\r\n\u201cThis approach pushes legal and financial liability onto our towns and cities, further stresses community-based shelters when they are already at capacity, and forces more of our most vulnerable neighbors onto the street.\r\n\r\n\u201cIt doesn\u2019t have to be this way. The state has the resources to meet the needs of our community\u2014and could be leveraging more federal support as well. Specifically, the administration sought and received authority to use up to $34 million in Medicaid dollars to provide housing supports for people with disabilities this year, and another $35 million for 2027. Incredibly, amidst a statewide housing crisis, the Scott administration has chosen not to put those funds to use.\r\n\r\n\u201cMeanwhile, people with disabilities who need that support are once again facing the choice\u202fbetween risking their life and health by living\u202foutside or\u202fgoing to the hospital\u202ffor exorbitantly expensive care.\u202fOther people housed in the GA program\u2014all of whom have been deemed vulnerable in some way by the state, including families with children, seniors, those fleeing domestic violence, and more\u2014will be faced with similarly bleak options.\r\n\r\n\u201cThe governor\u2019s short-sighted and single-minded obsession with denying access to shelter is hurting people, families, and communities statewide. We continue to demand better for our state.\u201d\r\n\r\nThe ACLU is interested in hearing from people who are currently in the GA program or who were recently unsheltered. Please contact Jessica Radbord at 802-251-6554."}}],"use_default_media_contact":true,"name":"","email":"","phone":"","address":{"address_1":"","address_2":"","city":"","state":"","zip_code":"","country":"United States"},"pgp_public_key":"","spokesperson":null,"related_content":null,"issues":null,"toggle-pdf":true,"documents":null},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>ACLU Statement on Latest Mass Unsheltering of Vulnerable Vermonters from Emergency Shelter - ACLU of Vermont<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/live-awp-vermont.pantheonsite.io\/press-releases\/aclu-statement-on-latest-mass-unsheltering-of-vulnerable-vermonters-from-emergency-shelter\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ACLU Statement on Latest Mass Unsheltering of Vulnerable Vermonters from Emergency Shelter - ACLU of Vermont\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"ACLU of Vermont Executive Director James Duff Lyall condemns the state\u2019s &quot;mass unsheltering&quot; of vulnerable residents and the Scott administration for failing to utilize available funding to address the housing crisis.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.acluvt.org\/press-releases\/aclu-statement-on-latest-mass-unsheltering-of-vulnerable-vermonters-from-emergency-shelter\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ACLU of Vermont\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.acluvt.org\/app\/themes\/aclu-parent\/img\/default_fb_share.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/live-awp-vermont.pantheonsite.io\/press-releases\/aclu-statement-on-latest-mass-unsheltering-of-vulnerable-vermonters-from-emergency-shelter\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/live-awp-vermont.pantheonsite.io\/press-releases\/aclu-statement-on-latest-mass-unsheltering-of-vulnerable-vermonters-from-emergency-shelter\/\",\"name\":\"ACLU Statement on Latest Mass Unsheltering of Vulnerable Vermonters from Emergency Shelter - ACLU of Vermont\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.acluvt.org\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-01T20:16:20+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/live-awp-vermont.pantheonsite.io\/press-releases\/aclu-statement-on-latest-mass-unsheltering-of-vulnerable-vermonters-from-emergency-shelter\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/live-awp-vermont.pantheonsite.io\/press-releases\/aclu-statement-on-latest-mass-unsheltering-of-vulnerable-vermonters-from-emergency-shelter\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/live-awp-vermont.pantheonsite.io\/press-releases\/aclu-statement-on-latest-mass-unsheltering-of-vulnerable-vermonters-from-emergency-shelter\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Press Releases\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.acluvt.org\/press-releases\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"ACLU Statement on Latest Mass Unsheltering of Vulnerable Vermonters from Emergency Shelter\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.acluvt.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.acluvt.org\/\",\"name\":\"ACLU of Vermont\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.acluvt.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.acluvt.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.acluvt.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"ACLU of Vermont\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.acluvt.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.acluvt.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.acluvt.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Vermont_Color-Logo_RGB.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.acluvt.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Vermont_Color-Logo_RGB.png\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":2000,\"caption\":\"ACLU of Vermont\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.acluvt.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"ACLU Statement on Latest Mass Unsheltering of Vulnerable Vermonters from Emergency Shelter - ACLU of Vermont","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/live-awp-vermont.pantheonsite.io\/press-releases\/aclu-statement-on-latest-mass-unsheltering-of-vulnerable-vermonters-from-emergency-shelter\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"ACLU Statement on Latest Mass Unsheltering of Vulnerable Vermonters from Emergency Shelter - ACLU of Vermont","og_description":"ACLU of Vermont Executive Director James Duff Lyall condemns the state\u2019s \"mass unsheltering\" of vulnerable residents and the Scott administration for failing to utilize available funding to address the housing crisis.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.acluvt.org\/press-releases\/aclu-statement-on-latest-mass-unsheltering-of-vulnerable-vermonters-from-emergency-shelter\/","og_site_name":"ACLU of Vermont","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.acluvt.org\/app\/themes\/aclu-parent\/img\/default_fb_share.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/live-awp-vermont.pantheonsite.io\/press-releases\/aclu-statement-on-latest-mass-unsheltering-of-vulnerable-vermonters-from-emergency-shelter\/","url":"https:\/\/live-awp-vermont.pantheonsite.io\/press-releases\/aclu-statement-on-latest-mass-unsheltering-of-vulnerable-vermonters-from-emergency-shelter\/","name":"ACLU Statement on Latest Mass Unsheltering of Vulnerable Vermonters from Emergency Shelter - ACLU of Vermont","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.acluvt.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-04-01T20:16:20+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/live-awp-vermont.pantheonsite.io\/press-releases\/aclu-statement-on-latest-mass-unsheltering-of-vulnerable-vermonters-from-emergency-shelter\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/live-awp-vermont.pantheonsite.io\/press-releases\/aclu-statement-on-latest-mass-unsheltering-of-vulnerable-vermonters-from-emergency-shelter\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/live-awp-vermont.pantheonsite.io\/press-releases\/aclu-statement-on-latest-mass-unsheltering-of-vulnerable-vermonters-from-emergency-shelter\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Press Releases","item":"https:\/\/www.acluvt.org\/press-releases\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"ACLU Statement on Latest Mass Unsheltering of Vulnerable Vermonters from Emergency Shelter"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.acluvt.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.acluvt.org\/","name":"ACLU of Vermont","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.acluvt.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.acluvt.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.acluvt.org\/#organization","name":"ACLU of Vermont","url":"https:\/\/www.acluvt.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.acluvt.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.acluvt.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Vermont_Color-Logo_RGB.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.acluvt.org\/app\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Vermont_Color-Logo_RGB.png","width":2000,"height":2000,"caption":"ACLU of Vermont"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.acluvt.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"ACLU of Vermont","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.acluvt.org","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acluvt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_release\/4615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acluvt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_release"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acluvt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/press_release"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.acluvt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.acluvt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_release\/4615\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4616,"href":"https:\/\/www.acluvt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_release\/4615\/revisions\/4616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.acluvt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}