By JOHN VORDER BRUEGGE
Eagle Times Correspondent
SPRINGFIELD, VT — The Springfield Supportive Housing Program and regional efforts are seeking to house and help those without a residence, reduce barriers and demystify homelessness.
Tish Watson was among those who shared their own stories about the organizations recently at the Springfield Town Library. Watson was homeless in 2020, but after getting a helping hand is now a full-time college student with a stable, affordable residence and bright future.
While the program’s staff shared statistics about the region’s housing crisis during the event, Watson stood out, one of the landlords in attendance noted, as “a great spokesperson,” after relating her journey from homelessness to college.
The Springfield Supportive Housing Program serves portions of southern Windsor and northern Windham counties, meeting “clients where they are,” adjusting their services as circumstances and each client’s needs require, said Operations Director Tara Chase.
In December, the Program’s clients included 101 people using emergency shelter or transitional units and 23 people in locations “not meant for human habitation,” Chase said. Of those 124 clients, 18 had a developmental disability, 67 had a physical disability and 114 had mental health disorders. Thirty-six percent of SSHP clients have disorders related to alcohol, drugs or both.
Contrary to stereotyping, Chase said, only about one third of clients have a substance abuse disorder.
During 2023, SSHP helped house 137 people, and 100 of those clients are still housed today.
Hug a landlord
Springfield Supportive Housing’s Landlord Liaison Stephanie Vandal is dedicated to building relationships with landlords to share resources and facilitate rental opportunities.
During the library event, local landlords shared some of their experiences, and challenges, including state regulations.
Vandal, who works with 60 to 70 landlords, described one landlord who owns a 30-unit building that costs $60,000 to heat each winter. Higher costs due to inflation mean landlords sometimes need to pass some of those increases to their tenants, she said.
Each year, the group hosts a thank you dinner for landlords. Last May, it was a Landlord Appreciation Dinner Luau at the Crown Point Country Club.
Homeless
awareness day
The “2024 Homelessness Awareness Day: A Day of Action” is Thursday, Jan. 18. The Springfield Town Library is marking the day with showings of the documentary, “The Homestretch.” According to pbs.org, the film “follows [three] ambitious teens as they move through the milestones of high school while navigating a landscape of couch hopping, emergency shelters, transitional homes, street families and a school system on the front lines of the crisis.”
Free showings of “The Homestretch” (running time is 89 minutes) are scheduled at the Springfield Town Library at 1 p.m. today and Friday, and at 6 p.m. Thursday.
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