SVMC Community Health Needs Assessment 2021 - Catalog - Page 27
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The 2020 Point-In-Time Count, Vermont’s Annual Statewide
Count of the Homeless, indicated that 88 persons in
Bennington County were homeless, constituting 53
households. In Windham County, 97 individuals were
homeless, constituting 78 households. Predominantly,
homeless individuals in both counties were White or
Caucasian, with a roughly even split between males and
females.16
Survey Respondent Quote:
“My housing is unsafe, but
there is no place for me to
move. Nothing is available.”
Youth are particularly vulnerable to the negative consequences of instable housing. The 2019 YRBS
indicated that 4% of Bennington County high school students17 and 5% of Windham County high school
students18 had slept away from their parents or guardians because they were kicked out, ran away, or
were abandoned. For students of color and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender (LGBT) students, this
posed a larger challenge, with 8% reporting this experience. In 2020 in Bennington County, 97 youth
were “precariously housed” (young adults who were not literally homeless but are couch surfing, facing
eviction, or cyclically homeless); Windham County’s total of precariously housed youth was 114.19
Unfortunately, similar data quantifying the severity of homelessness is not available for other counties
within SVMC’s service area. Additionally, county-level data are not yet available from Vermont’s 2021
Point-In-Time Count, and an unsheltered count was not conducted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
COVID-19 allowed a large portion of unstably housed and homeless Vermonters to participate in the
General Assistance Motel Voucher program, an initiative that temporarily housed 1,585 people in
motels and hotels during the pandemic.19
Disparities in housing stability identified by SVMC’s community health survey:
82% of White or Caucasian respondents own their own home, compared to 56% of Black or African
American respondents, 50% of Asian respondents, and 53% of Hispanic or Latino/a respondents.
83% of straight or heterosexual respondents own their own home, compared to 56% of LGBTQ
respondents.
One of the largest contributors to homelessness is lack of affordable housing, particularly for individuals
who are unemployed or are employed for low wages. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) defines a “cost-burdened family” as a household that pays more than 30% of total
income for housing, potentially resulting in difficulties affording other necessary expenses. Households
who are severely cost-burdened spend 50% or more of their income on housing. Nationwide, 30.2% of
16
2020 Point-In-Time Count Report: Vermont’s Annual Statewide Count of the Homeless. Vermont Coalition to End
Homelessness & Chittenden County Homeless Alliance. https://helpingtohousevt.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/2020-PITReport-FINAL-1.pdf
17 2019 Vermont Youth Risk Behavior Survey Report: Bennington County. Vermont Department of Health.
https://www.healthvermont.gov/sites/default/files/documents/pdf/HSVR_YRBS_BENNINGTON_2019.pdf
18 2019 Vermont Youth Risk Behavior Survey Report: Windham County. Vermont Department of Health.
https://www.healthvermont.gov/sites/default/files/documents/pdf/HSVR_YRBS_WINDHAM_2019.pdf
19 2021 Point-In-Time Count: Raw 2021 PIT Data Presented by ICA to the Vermont Coalition to End Homelessness on May 18,
2021. https://helpingtohousevt.org/pointintime/2021-pit/
Southwestern Vermont Medical Center
Community Health Needs Assessment 2021