What's With the Surge of Litter in Bennington?

If you’ve walked around town, spent time in the Rotary Park also known as People's Park, or spent any amount of time on any number of Facebook community groups for Bennington, you’ve probably noticed some new concerns that have increased in the last couple of months. There has been a surge of reports of litter, including human waste and used needles. People's Park was  closed for a week at the end of June while the trail was cleaned up. So what’s going on?

If you’ve followed our blog, you know that Vermont’s hotel voucher program, which, at the beginning of May, was housing nearly 2,000 Vermonters who struggle with housing insecurity, were at risk of becoming homeless due to the Vermont Legislature not renewing the program. Vermont residents who were housed by the program were slated to lose their housing over the course of three waves. In a last minute effort, the Vermont Legislature renewed the program to extend until March 2024, but not before the first wave of Vermonters lost their housing. In Bennington county, more than 60 residents were put onto the street. This sudden and dramatic increase in homelessness had sadly predictable results. Bennington currently has no public restrooms available 24/7 and no public safe needle disposal boxes. Our director, Chloe Viner Collins, raised these concerns during Bennington Selectboard meetings in May and June and through both Project Alliance and the Housing Crisis Subcommittee. BCCH is currently taking a lead in trying to secure access to 24/7 restrooms and safe needle disposal boxes - as well as access to a 24/7 drinking water fountain to improve the safety of Bennington and the cleanliness of our public areas. 

Call to Action

Wondering how you can help? There are many ways! You could join our monthly Newsletter to stay up to date on BCCH and homelessness in Bennington. You can attend a Bennington Select Board Meeting to voice your concerns, or you can contact your elected representatives directly here.