EHVT Outrage at Intentional Data Breach

End Homelessness Vermont (EHVT) is both stunned and outraged after learning of the egregious privacy
breach executed by the Scott Administration. On Monday, August 4th, 64,000 low income Vermonters
who rely on food assistance learned that their private information was shared with the Trump
Administration. This came on the heels of President Trump signaling his intention to target people living
with disabilities at the intersection of unsheltered homelessness, through his recent executive order. This
information was shared without knowledge or permission of our clients and others, who have entrusted
the Vermont state government to keep their personal data private. This information includes the names,
dates of birth, Social Security Numbers and addresses of almost all of our clients.

“This is irreversible and untenable harm. We can not allow things like this to happen in Vermont”, said
Executive Director Brenda Siegel. “This move by the Scott Administration erodes the trust and safety of
our fellow Vermonters”

All of the staff at EHVT have received SNAP benefits at some point in the not too distant past, and we are
also the authorized representative for hundreds of clients. We do not know if our personal and private
data was breached as well in this process. “As a woman in the LGBTQ community who is Jewish and
lives with disabilities, I do not know where the line was drawn. I do not know if this made my own family
unsafe”, said Siegel. “So many of our clients live with multiple marginalized identities, as I do. Vermonters
have a right to know when and how their data was breached”.

It is already a challenging decision for many low income Vermonters to apply for and accept help, and we
fear this will erode their faith in the system, further limiting their access to nutrition and food for their
families. “As someone who very recently stopped receiving SNAP benefits and was previously in the GA
Program, living with disabilities” says Shelby LeBarron of EHVT, “this act makes it feel to me and our
clients like we will only ever be seen in the light of our poverty. It makes it difficult to trust that personal
information we give the state will be kept private”.

This is a moment in history when End Homelessness Vermont expects our state government to go out of
its way to protect our clients who live with disabilities from being targeted by the Trump Administration.
Instead, our organization is faced with trying to mitigate the harm of a massive, deliberate breach of low
income Vermonters’ privacy. We call on the legislature when they return in January to quickly pass explicit
measures protecting Vermonters from this ever happening again. We call on Governor Scott to halt the
sharing of any further information, including specific food purchases made by these households. At EHVT
we will continue to seek ways to protect our clients from the harms caused by this action.