462 flags encircled the Taylor Park fountain over the weekend, one for every person in Franklin and Grand Isle Counties who was homeless in 2023. “These are our neighbors, people we know and see every day, who spent some portion of last year not knowing where they were going to sleep that night.”
Vermonters are recognizing Homelessness Awareness Day this Thursday. The Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity held a vigil in Taylor Park to show support for the unhoused.
St. Albans, VT- Community members in St. Albans joined forces to support those fighting homelessness. A blanket drive organized by the Samaritan House collected over 100 blankets.
The shelter provides temporary housing and assistance for those without homes in Franklin and Grand Isle communities. But Ben Kaufmann, program director at Tim’s House said because of the persisting housing crisis and dropping temperatures, each day has become more difficult to meet demand.
Leaders and community members are celebrating the reopening of the Community Resource Center after it was closed for about two weeks, as renovations to improve capacity and efficiency are now complete. The Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity runs the resource center, as well as Feeding Chittenden in the same building. Leaders commemorated the new renovations on Thursday. Burlington community members now have a bigger space to get services in the Old North End. Phase one renovations on the Community Resource Center have ended, allowing for a higher capacity.
The low-barrier homeless shelter at Burlington's former Champlain Inn will have new management this fall. On October 2, the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity will take the reins from ANEW Place, the nonprofit that has owned and operated the Shelburne Road shelter for the past four years. The Champlain Housing Trust will assume ownership of the building and manage the property.
According to one of Vermont’s largest anti-poverty organizations, about one-third of Vermonters fall below the poverty level. To help spread awareness, an art project depicting personal stories is being shared with communities across the state.
This is a horrible situation for us as an organization, a humiliating one for the people we are serving, and ultimately an intolerable one for us as a society.
Every day, it’s getting harder to help people experiencing homelessness in St. Albans. To better help, Ben Kaufmann needs more affordable housing. With few residential vacancies in the state, the people he serves – Vermont’s homeless population – can’t always find an affordable place to stay even if they have the funds.
Vermont has programs that shelter people during the coldest of winter days, but to keep people safe during the hottest days of summer the state’s plan is still a patchwork.