Weinberger calls on state to keep Cherry Street homeless shelter open indefinitely

Mayor Miro Weinberger held an impromptu press conference with reporters Wednesday at Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport to rail against the state's plans to close a temporary homeless shelter on Cherry Street in a state-owned office building on Friday, after one week of operation.

Weinberger was at the airport to announce plans for a new north terminal, but let reporters know before the scheduled press conference started he would be addressing the Cherry Street shelter afterwards.

"From my perspective this has been a rushed, poorly planned, poorly executed effort," Weinberger began his remarks. "There has been less than a week's worth of advance notice to communities that we're going to be hosting these shelters. They're being offered in a way that doesn't meet the basic needs of the people staying in these shelters."

There are no showers in the Cherry Street shelter and no space being made available to store belongings or weapons, according to Weinberger, who said "many homeless people feel the need to carry weapons."

Weinberger said he voiced "deep skepticism" a week ago, when the state announced the Cherry Street shelter would provide "stepdown capacity" for one week between the ending of the adverse weather program to provide winter shelter and people having "no support whatsoever."

"I don't know where they're supposed to go in the current situation when you have almost no vacancies, no shelter capacity and social services are overwhelmed," Weinberger said. "We have a real problem and it has been durable for years now. We need more shelter capacity to deal with it."

Burlington experiences 'unprecedented' levels of homelessness

More than 25 people slept in the Cherry Street shelter on Monday and Tuesday nights, according to Weinberger, and there has been a "proliferation of tents," he said, since the closing of the state's adverse weather program last Friday.

More: New winter shelter programs for houseless in Vermont may not be enough

"We know that last summer and last fall we experienced unprecedented levels of unsheltered homelessness in Burlington and in other parts of the state," Weinberger said.

Weinberger called on Gov. Phil Scott, or the Legislature if necessary, to keep the Cherry Street shelter open "indefinitely," and said the city of Burlington stood ready to provide both administrative and financial support if needed.

"The governor could on his own choose a different outcome," Weinberger said. "The governor has the authority to secure a different outcome than closing the shelter on Friday and I'm urging him to do so. If the governor will not do that I am calling on the legislative leaders to impose an alternative solution, working with the city of Burlington to keep people sheltered and to avoid the unsheltered homelessness we saw throughout last summer and fall."

Samantha Sheehan, director of communications for the mayor, said in an email Thursday there has been no response from state officials to Weinberger's remarks and call for action.

"They have not changed course," Sheehan said. "We just heard from the security provider (at the Cherry Street shelter) that tonight will be the last night."

Contact Dan D’Ambrosio at 660-1841 or ddambrosi@gannett.com. Follow him on X @DanDambrosioVT.

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Mayor Weinberger says state needs to do more to solve homelessness