Editor’s note: This commentary is by Alison Segar, a Burlington resident, who has been a social worker in Chittenden County for 22 years and has worked with children and families for more than 35 years.
[T]his is Burlington, Vermont: one of the most “desirable” cities to live in the U.S.
I work with children you do not know and will never know – children who you may cross the street from if you see them coming toward you. I am a social worker, and this has been my life for 35 years now.
I work with children who are homeless, jobless, family-less, and riddled with anxiety and depression. They are also smart, kind, beautiful, curious, funny, exhausted, talented, full of love for others, full of hope and despair and are oh-so generous.
I work with children who are lonely, sad, confused and have smiles that light up rooms – children who are angry and loud, who are angry and quiet, who slip under the radar and just disappear.
These children are disconnected from their bodies and sometimes disconnected from reality, but they are able to laugh at themselves and make jokes that make me laugh out loud, too.
These children do drugs I have never heard of, smoke, Juul, vape, drink alcohol in excess, eat crappy food in excess, don’t eat any food at all and are always willing to share what they do have with others.
These children have sex for money so they can pay their rent and buy themselves food. They get into casual relationships just so they have a bed to sleep in for the night.
I work with children who do not know that “no” is a complete sentence and that this two-letter word could have stopped them from experiencing sexual or physical harm in their past, as well as sexual or physical harm right now.
These children who do not know what they need when they are asked, “What do you need?” and are unable to ask for what they need in a way that can be heard by our adult ears. Their requests always need to have a “please” or “thank you” attached to them; otherwise, it is seen as ungrateful.
I work with kids who are told they have not made made good choices, that they have a chip on their shoulder, that they are too angry, too lazy and that they appear threatening to others.
Yes, this is the Burlington I know, which is hidden from most of its residents.
I have heard I have done the best I can do and it is more than most. What does that mean, I have done the best I can do?
Our system has completely failed a growing proportion of our kids. Their parents have failed them. Our town has failed them. The state has failed them, and we as a society have failed them.
I do not believe I have done enough. I do not believe we have done enough. There are young folks who are still falling through gaps. The gaps are becoming vast holes, cavernous in size. The most vulnerable young folks in our town are falling through vast cavernous black holes and that is not OK.
In Chittenden County, we have 16 beds for homeless youth. That’s 16 beds for the largest city in Vermont. Only 16 beds. Spectrum had a unit that housed another eight beds, but due to challenges beyond Spectrum’s control, it had to close.
I am so tired of watching the developments go up in town knowing they will never be places that will house our kids, ever. I am tired of hearing about splash pools for our park when kids are sleeping roughly and are unsafe.
I am so tired of not sleeping, worrying about whether the kids I work with will find a place for the night to rest their head where they are safe and warm.
If we really believe it takes a village to raise a child, our village needs to act now, together, to turn the tide of what is becoming a monumental catastrophe for our youth. Seriously, it is a crisis, and we will be very foolish and shortsighted to continue to ignore it.