Officials at Vermont 2-1-1, the free referral service operated by the United Ways of Vermont, report more calls this year have been regarding housing assistance than in 2007.
An article in this morning's Burlington Free Press provides some numbers: Through last month, calls in 2008 regarding housing totaled 1,916, compared to a total of housing-related calls in 2007 of 2,089.
In Chittenden County, housing-related calls through last month totalled 590, compared with a total of 669 for last year.
The article quotes Vermont 2-1-1 Director MaryEllen Mendl as saying, "It's not just that people can't afford housing anymore; they can't keep what they have."
Read the Free Press story. Or read Vermont 2-1-1's summary report of 2007 "homeless and at-risk callers."