ST. ALBANS, Vt. (WCAX) – Organizers from the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity are showing community members what it’s like to live unhoused

“In that type of situation, I felt scared. Like I didn’t think that if I reached out to anybody. Anybody was going to help me,” Khayli Martin of St. Albans said.

Khayli Matrin has lived in Vermont since she was a teenager, and struggled with substance use, and has been homeless three times.

She is currently living at a shelter with her son and will get her own place in June.

When CVOEO asked her to share her story with the community she couldn’t say no.

“I felt the need to express to people, you know, being homeless it is not like everybody talks about. Everybody goes through something different. So I feel like people should take the time. I feel like people should walk in your shoes,” Martin said.

The Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity hosted their fifth annual ‘In Their Shoes’ fundraiser at Taylor Park.

Community members got to talk to providers and individuals in St. Albans with lived experience.

Officials say in 2024 there were over 600 people experiencing homelessness in Franklin and Grand Isle counties, and organizers hope to curb stigma through events like this.

“I think the hardest thing for our population that we work with is stigma. I think there has been a societal shift in recent years. Where people have almost a hatred for the unsheltered population,” Ben Kaufmann of Samaritan House said.

Community members walked to various locations like the Safe Root Shelter and Restorative Justice to see where homeless individuals can find resources.

“It just feels wrong for people not to have a home. I can’t comfortably be in my house every night and feel like there are some people out on the street. You know, I want to do something more,” Patricia Freed-Thall of Fletcher said.

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