Homelessness & Hunger
Homelessness and Hunger Grow
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Overview
The high cost of living creates a pinch felt even among Vermonters with full-time employment. A growing number of working families are living in shelters for increasingly long periods of time. Some communities are drastically short on emergency shelters, leaving many Vermonters out in the cold. At the same time, hunger is on the rise in Vermont, especially among children and elders. In counties stricken with concentrated poverty, use of food pantries and the need for emergency hunger relief has spiked in recent years.
- In 2005, Vermont’s homeless shelters reported a 52% increase in the number of beds occupied over the previous four years. Since 2001 the average length of stay increased from 13 nights to 26 nights,
- Approximately 4,000 Vermonters are homeless at some point during the course of each year. The people most likely to experience homelessness are families headed by single women and single adults under age 65 who live below the poverty line.
- In 12 of Vermont’s 14 counties, the total population served by food shelves has increased. From 2003 to 2005, the number of families with minor children using food shelves increased by 28%.
Read more about homelessness and hunger in Understanding Vermont or get a copy of the entire publication.