At a time when much of the rest of America has decided that being homeless is not only a moral failure but also a crime, the Upper Valley has rallied handsomely in support of the construction of a new 20-bed low-barrier shelter in White River Junction that is projected to open next spring. Although backing for the project was by no means unanimous, it is testimony to the compassion, good will and wisdom so often exhibited by those who live here.

The Upper Valley Haven, which is building and will operate the shelter, broke ground for the project after exceeding its $10.2 million fundraising goal. As our colleague Lukas Dunford reported, 320 individuals and groups donated to the effort, supplementing grant funding from public entities such as USDA Rural Development, the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board and the Vermont Office of Economic Opportunity.

Notably, the City of Lebanon contributed $125,000 toward the effort, recognizing that homelessness is a regional problem that knows no geographic boundaries and that it is in its own interest to help address it. Other Upper Valley communities such as Hanover and Norwich would do well to follow Lebanon’s example in this regard.

The 9,000-square-foot, two-story shelter is being built on the site of the former 25,000 Gifts shop on Route 5, and an artist’s rendering strongly suggests that it will be a big visual improvement over its predecessor, which closed years ago. Much more important is that the shelter will provide meals, showers, charging outlets and semi-private sleeping spaces where homeless individuals can get warm in the winter and cool in the summer. It will be staffed 24/7 by the Haven, which perhaps will alleviate some of the safety concerns expressed by Hartford residents when the project was first announced. Such fears need to be taken seriously, and we trust that the Haven will take the steps necessary to make sure that they don’t become a reality.

The building’s first floor will house a resource center to provide assistance in applying for permanent housing and employment, navigating public benefit forms and accessing health care. To our mind, coupling short-term shelter with the possibility of long-term life improvement is key to whatever chance there is to get a grip on the nation’s crisis of homelessness. As Michael Redmond, executive director of the Haven, put it, “Lives will be saved. Hope and possibility for different futures will be restored.”

This approach stands in stark contrast to many jurisdictions that, with the blessing of the U.S. Supreme Court last year, have criminalized being homeless. We don’t know of any place that has solved its homelessness problem by arresting and fining people for sleeping on the streets when they have nowhere else to go, but it does speak to a punitive attitude that has taken hold across the nation as homelessness has grown worse in recent years.

Meanwhile, the Vermont Legislature and governor have failed abjectly to settle on a comprehensive plan to deal with the fourth-highest rate of homelessness in the country. Just this past week, 800 people were turned out on the streets when a motel-voucher program expired without a replacement in sight.

An estimated three-quarters of a million Americans are currently homeless in this new Gilded Age of fabulous wealth for the few, including 175 individuals in the Hartford area and 58 in lower Grafton County. Many more Americans are likely to experience homelessness at some time during their lives as Republicans in Congress advance legislation that is predicted to deprive 12 million Americans of their health insurance through cuts to the Medicaid program and that also will sharply curtail the food stamp program on which so many low-income families depend. This is being done in order to lavish tax cuts on the wealthy. Talk about moral failure.

In that regard, we hope that the Upper Valley has resolved never again to be the scene of horrors such as a homeless person being found dead under a bridge, as was the case last February, or dying in a Dumpster, as in January 2023. What’s required is nothing less than a moral reimagination of our human obligation to each other, thereby saving lives and maybe our collective soul.