Dear Editor, I read your VTDigger article about a family struggling to survive who are facing eviction as the housing program comes to an end. This is an annual event. The stories of these families or individuals are heartbreaking — some, like this couple, may have extreme health issues that r equire access to electricity to survive. Others may be families with children who will be ripped from the only security they have known and face homelessness again. Just as last year, this happens around the season of Easter and Passover, a time when families gather to celebrate hope and renewal. Where is the hope and renewal for these individuals?  Perhaps some people reading this think that this is a situation that has befallen these people through their own fault — drug and alcohol addiction, laziness and unwillingness to work at a menial job, mental health issues that prevent them from being able to earn a living. But homelessness and despair can happen to anyone. It can start small, with the loss of a job, or illness, or the death of a loved one, which then leads to the loss of a home, which leads to the dissolution of a family unit that can no longer care for itself, which leads to isolation and despair. READ MORE We think of these people as “them,” not us, but homelessness can happen to anyone, whether we’re college-educated or lacking even a GED. With housing unaffordable for so many, this situation will continue. Think about the child who is moved from location to location — are they in school, which provides a safety net of sorts with food assistance and health monitoring? Or are they not able to even attend school because of where they live? This next generation of Vermonters will lack the skills to survive in this increasingly complex world, and the cycle of generational failure will continue.  Is more affordable housing the solution? Job training and skill development? Are more employment opportunities or affordable health care and mental health services the answer? Vermont is at a crossroads — and of course, money is at the center of it all. The arguments between preserving pristine landscapes versus multi-unit housing developments are constant and do not help solve the problem. Homelessness is a major issue across the world, but in the United States, that displacement is not because of war, famine or climate. In 2026, in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, with the most dynamic economy — and with the largest wealth disparity among developed nations — we cannot house and feed the most vulnerable, to our lasting shame.  So as you sit at your tables on Easter Sunday and celebrate the hope and renewal it represents, think about those who can’t because they have no roof, no table and no food. Sally Laurent Windsor, Vt. Read the story on VTDigger here: No room at the inn. ...read more read less