Gov. Peter Shumlin unveiled a new strategy to end much of Vermont’s homelessness by 2020 at a news conference Monday announcing $580,000 in grants for affordable housing and a homeless day center in Burlington.
“Even with serious budget challenges, we are fortunate in Vermont to have many of the programs and partnerships already in place to support an ambitious initiative. We can build on these foundations to achieve the goal of ending childhood and family homelessness by 2020,” Shumlin said in a statement.
The new initiative will bring together state and federal housing and shelter assistance programs along with local organizations working on the same issues.
The three-part plan involves pursuing a “Family Connection” framework to give communities a system for assessing families’ housing needs and connecting them to public assistance and employment services; coordinating rental subsidy programs and services for people who are homeless to get families into housing more quickly; and rehabilitating housing stock to provide more affordable housing.
The announcement came in conjunction with a $580,000 grant award for the construction and rehabilitation of 14 new affordable apartments and a day station for the homeless at 95 North Ave. in Burlington.
The grant was awarded to the town of Williston on behalf of the homeless in Chittenden County, and the development project will be coordinated by the Committee on Temporary Shelter (COTS) and Housing Vermont.
