MONTPELIER — The victim of a Feb. 21 stabbing incident at the Transit Center is in stable condition, according to City Manager Bill Fraser at a Feb. 23 city council meeting. But Good Samaritan Haven has suspended its programming at the center for the time being.
Fraser reported that Gabe DeAngelis, an employee of Good Samaritan Haven and the victim of the attack, is in stable condition after being stabbed 10 times by 18-year-old Marshfield resident Aydan Jestice. Three days earlier 33-year old Michael Markham, described in a Montpelier Police press release as a transient, was arrested and lodged at the Northeast Correctional Facility for the alleged offense of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, also at the Transit Center.
According to Fraser, Green Mountain Transit had to close its facility on Tuesday due to biohazard cleaning requirements. “Good Samaritan Haven made the decision to suspend their program for the time being. The nonprofit community, churches, and city are cobbling together evening hours at different locations while long-term decisions are being made,” he said.
In the short term, Christ Episcopal Church, Bethany United Church of Christ, and the Unitarian Church of Montpelier are providing evening hours, on a rotating basis, with staffing support from Ken Russell and Another Way.
“This incident has hit providers pretty hard,” stated Fraser, who cautioned the public to not assume the violent incident was directly related to homelessness.
He acknowledged that concern over the safety of staff members who work with the unhoused in Montpelier had been raised at several city council meetings, most recently on Feb. 8. In that meeting, councilor Jennifer Morton, a social worker with 20 years of experience said:
“A lot of the homeless people around here are people that have been asked to not return to services because they can’t stay sober … Solving the homeless problem isn’t just a matter of putting up structures. It’s much deeper. It’s that all the mental health and social service systems, all the organizations, those on the ground doing the work are tired … there’s not enough service providers and … providers are changing constantly … it drains your life dealing with people’s trauma.”
After the Monday night stabbing, Fraser said the city has “had conversations with GMT about terminating [its] MOU, but no decisions have been made.” The memorandum of understanding stated that “The parties shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless each other and its agencies, officers, and employees from all loss, damage, claims, or injuries caused by/or arising out of the use of the facility.” The city, Green Mountain Transit, or Good Samaritan Haven may terminate the agreement with or without cause, under certain conditions.
