In Vermont, homelessness has surged nearly 200% since 2020, and property crime has risen in tandem. State leaders have largely blamed housing affordability and proposed solutions focused on more housing subsidies or construction. However, the data tells a different story. Addiction and mental health challenges—not high rents—are driving Vermont’s crises. Worse, the state’s well-intentioned social programs, including emergency housing and expanded benefits, have created a dependency loop that enables addiction, attracts transient populations, and entrenches the very problems they aim to solve. It’s time for Vermont to confront the uncomfortable truth: the “free stuff” approach isn’t working, and the state’s policies are making the problem worse.
The Data: A Crisis in Parallel
Homelessness and property crime in Vermont have followed eerily similar trajectories since 2020. Annual Point-in-Time (PIT) counts show homelessness nearly tripling, while property crimes like theft and burglary have surged. The overlap is no coincidence. Addiction is the common thread. According to SAMHSA, 65–80% of chronically homeless individuals suffer from substance use disorders. Addiction compels individuals to prioritize drugs over stability, driving them to avoid shelters with substance use restrictions and turning to crime to fund their habits. Vermont’s crisis is less about housing affordability and more about untreated addiction and mental health.
Visual comparisons of homelessness and crime trends reveal a stark correlation that cannot be ignored. Addiction-fueled homelessness directly contributes to rising crime, creating a feedback loop that perpetuates societal instability.
Policies That Perpetuate Dependency
Vermont’s social programs, while rooted in compassion, unintentionally fuel this destructive cycle. Emergency housing programs, such as motel vouchers, provide temporary relief but fail to address the root causes of homelessness. By stabilizing transient populations without requiring accountability or treatment, these programs inadvertently create a ready-made customer base for drug dealers. The state’s lax residency rules, which allow anyone declaring intent to live in Vermont to access benefits immediately, amplify the problem by attracting individuals seeking resources from out of state. Combined with Vermont’s revolving door approach to narcotics enforcement, this fosters an environment where addiction thrives, and criminal networks flourish. Dealers know where the customers are—and Vermont’s policies ensure the customers stay put.
The Burlington OPC: A Symptom, Not a Solution
The House Human Services Committee has proposed using opioid settlement funds to establish an Overdose Prevention Center (OPC) in Burlington. These centers aim to reduce overdoses and public drug use by providing a safe space for supervised consumption. While harm reduction has its merits, this proposal exemplifies Vermont’s broader failure to address addiction itself.
OPCs don’t eliminate addiction—they concentrate it. Offering free, low-barrier services attracts users and increases visible drug activity in the surrounding area. Vermont’s existing social support policies already sustain a visible and stable customer base for drug dealers. Adding an OPC would only grow this market, entrenching addiction further and creating fertile ground for traffickers. Proponents claim OPCs reduce crime, but evidence from other cities often focuses narrowly on the immediate vicinity, ignoring the broader displacement of crime and drug activity to adjacent areas. Economic logic supports this reality: where addiction concentrates, so too does crime.
Would it be worth spending $1.1 million annually to create a site for safe drug use, perpetuating a scenario with no clear end? Alternatively, that same investment could fund approximately 19 full-time social workers or 23 substance abuse counselors in Vermont, providing direct, long-term support for individuals seeking recovery. Redirecting these resources toward treatment professionals would better address the root causes of addiction and homelessness, offering a path out of dependency rather than stabilizing it.
Breaking the Cycle of Addiction and Dependency
Vermont must rethink its approach to homelessness, addiction, and crime by prioritizing accountability and recovery. Emergency housing programs should be tied to participation in addiction treatment or mental health services, ensuring that recipients are actively working toward stability. Benefits must come with clear timelines and limits to encourage self-sufficiency and reduce dependency. Replacing short-term fixes like motel vouchers with transitional housing paired with mandatory support services would create a path out of homelessness and addiction. At the same time, stronger enforcement against narcotics trafficking would disrupt the networks that exploit vulnerable populations.
These changes won’t be easy, but they are necessary. Vermont can no longer afford to throw money at symptoms while ignoring the root causes. Addressing addiction and mental health head-on is the only way to break the destructive cycle of homelessness and crime.
Conclusion
Vermont’s intertwined crises of homelessness, addiction, and crime demand bold action. By misdiagnosing the problem and focusing on housing affordability, state leaders have perpetuated the very issues they aim to solve. The “free stuff” approach has backfired, enabling dependency and attracting transient populations while doing nothing to address addiction or mental health. Only through policies that prioritize recovery, accountability, and enforcement can Vermont break this cycle and build safer, healthier communities.
Dave Soulia | FYIVT
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