Dear Editor, I read Carly Berlin’s recent story in VTDigger about Vermont’s new homelessness assistance policy with sadness. Apparently both our Republican governor and the Democratic Legislature are complicit in this. My familiarity with the subject derives mainly from the dozen years I spe nt in the Vermont attorney general’s office representing the Department for Children and Families in administrative hearings, often concerning denials of assistance to people in housing emergencies.  I have this to say about the new policies: Needs do not arise only during normal business hours. Emergencies do not stop occurring merely because you stop viewing them as such. It is long, long past time that we as a society stopped making people prove they deserve a roof over their heads as a prerequisite for helping them obtain it. Everybody deserves it. Especially children.  READ MORE This state’s treatment of people who lack that basic human right is, and long has been, shamefully inadequate. I am sad to see it getting worse. Seth A. Steinzor South Burlington, Vt. Read the story on VTDigger here: Vermont’s new homelessness policy abandons people in crisis. ...read more read less