Homeless Vermonters with and without shelter, Jan 2019-Jan 2025

Since 2020, homelessess has risen sharply. A one-day point-in-time count last January found nearly 3,500 people in Vermont without permanent housing, more than triple the number in 2019, and one of the highest rates of homelessness of any state. And January is when the state makes the most shelter beds available; in warmer weather many more homeless Vermonters are unsheltered.  Recent federal actions are exacerbating the problem, including efforts to criminalize unsheltered homelessness, potential cuts to homelessness assistance programs, and the elimination of access to housing vouchers for at least 131 Vermont households in 2025, with larger possible losses in 2026.