There was a slight uptick in the number of homeless people in Chittenden County this year, as well as a troubling increase in the number of homeless children across Vermont.
That’s according to the point-in-time count, a snapshot of the number of homeless people identified across the state on one night in January. A report analyzing the count was released by a coalition of homelessness advocates on Tuesday.
On the night in question, January 28, an estimated 3,286 Vermonters were found to be homeless — exactly 100 fewer than on the same night in 2025 and about 200 fewer than in 2024.
Advocates emphasized that the point-in-time count, conducted by local service providers in partnership with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, is an important tool, but one that misses some of the less-obviously homeless people in the state.
“We know it’s an undercount: People staying temporarily with friends or family, paying for their own motel rooms or living in encampments in other locations that outreach teams cannot access may not be reflected in these numbers,” said Taylor Thibault, who helps lead homelessness prevention initiatives for Champlain Housing Trust.
Despite the slight decrease in overall homelessness, the point-in-time count found that the number of unhoused children grew by 5 percent and now account for about 20 percent of the entire homeless population. Though the statewide number of homeless people decreased by 4 percent, the number of homeless people in Chittenden County grew by 1 percent.
The proportion of homeless people who don’t have access to even temporary shelter grew by 5 percent when compared to last year. About a third of those counted had a serious mental illness and 18 percent were suffering from substance-use disorder.
The data underscores the need for ongoing case management, access to health care, behavioral health treatment and supportive housing, Thibault said.
There were 834 homeless people identified in Chittenden County. Rutland County had the second-highest number with 434, while Washington County was third with 407.
With Chittenden County bearing the brunt of the state’s homelessness crisis, Burlington is engaged in a heated debate over how best to respond and whether or not the state should do more to assist the city. But there is no silver bullet, advocates acknowledged.
“This is a really complex issue that can’t be solved by one solution, and to really understand that, our goal should be to align our systems and work proactively together,” Thibault said.
The count also emphasized how reliant the state is on its motel housing program. More than two-thirds of the people accessing emergency shelter did so through the motel program.
But major changes are underway to the motel housing program after the passage of legislation in June, and advocacy groups are already raising the alarm about new logistical barriers to getting people access to emergency housing.
As winter closes in once again, advocates are hoping they can work with the Agency of Human Services to make sure emergency housing is still accessible.
“There have been some concerns with the initial rollout of the law, and we’re hoping to continue to partner with those state agencies to ensure the smoothest, most effective rollout as possible,” said Chad Simmons, executive director at the Housing & Homelessness Alliance of Vermont.
Simmons and other homelessness advocacy groups are currently finalizing their policy agenda for the upcoming legislative session. Their priorities, he said, will include pushing for technical fixes to the emergency housing law, investments in permanently affordable housing and preventing evictions to keep people in their homes.
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