RIGHT SPEAK: Homelessness, Drug Addiction Drive Public Safety Concerns in Vermont’s Largest — and Lefty — City: ‘I don’t walk at night’; Video: Burlington Native’s ‘They Ruined My Hometown’

Homelessness, drug addiction drive public safety concerns in Vermont’s largest — and lefty — city: ‘I don’t walk at night’:

Residents and business owners in Burlington, Vermont, spoke to Fox News Digital this week about the challenges their city is facing with an increase in homelessness and drug use on city streets, with some saying they’re worried about their physical safety.

Fox News caught up with locals on Church Street, a prominent area in Burlington lined with boutiques and upscale restaurants. They admitted that in recent years, the idyllic downtown on Lake Champlain has become an area where significant numbers of homeless people congregate.

Among them are individuals addicted to hard drugs like fentanyl, families who have been negatively affected by the economy, as well those who have turned to crime to support their lives on the streets. Multiple residents told Fox News the situation has them concerned about public safety.

“It’s really good during the day, but during the night, like people have said, it’s really dangerous,” one young local resident named Lucas said.

Burlington, where Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., served as mayor from 1981 to 1989, is the most populated city in Vermont despite having an estimated 44,000 residents. It has seen a significant uptick in its homeless population in the past several years.

According to outreach groups, there are over 350 homeless people living on city streets – a record number.

As local leaders told Fox News, many of these unhoused individuals have been ravaged by addiction, driven by drugs like fentanyl and xylazine, also known as “tranq.”

Vermont itself has seen a 500% uptick in drug overdose deaths in the last ten years. Local outlets have reported that first responders have been overwhelmed by the number of overdoses in the city.

Despite the compassion that residents and local business owners say they feel towards the homeless, especially those suffering with mental illness and drug addiction, many admitted they’ve been concerned about the effects on the local economy, tourism and the well-being of residents.

“I don’t walk at night,” an elderly woman named Nancy told Fox News Digital. When asked why, she replied, “‘Cause it’s dangerous.”

“People get beat up at nighttime,” she said, adding that she’s “very lucky” to have not become a victim of assault herself. She recalled how a neighbor of hers went out for a smoke one night and “got beaten up really bad.” The culprits also attempted to destroy a wheelchair the individual was using to get around.