BURLINGTON — The city’s only low-barrier shelter will be staying open throughout the spring after receiving $60,000 in funding from the City of Burlington.
The 37-bed facility operated by the Community Health Centers of Burlington closed on April 15 this year, leaving some people literally out in the cold, but next year will stay open until June 15.
The shelter, which is changing its name from the Winter Warming Shelter to the Low-Barrier Shelter, is the only shelter in the city that accepts intoxicated individuals. Erin Ahearn, CHCB’s director of homeless healthcare programs, said the shelter also takes in people with mental health problems and other social challenges.
“That may not allow them into the other shelters,” Ahearn said. “Really, we want the least amount of rules and conditions so folks are inside and safe.”
Last winter the shelter served 184 individuals for a cumulative 6,333 nights.
The state’s Housing Opportunity Grant, delivered through the Department of Children and Families, funds the shelter from November 1 to April 15. The city’s funding will keep it open through the spring.
“Vermont often does not have spring on April 15, so we’ll be able to get through that,” Ahearn said. “It will also give us some really pertinent information about how many folks, regardless of the weather, will want to stay in shelter and do we need more than what we have.”
The $60,000 going to the shelter from the city is paid for with funds carried over the from the fiscal year 2018 budget surplus and will not require any additional taxes.
The cold weather this past spring lasted until well after the shelter closed, sending sent those who had used it scrambling for housing solutions, Ahearn said. Some who met the qualifications to get into other shelters took that route while others went to live with friends or relatives or returned to camping.
CHCB is exploring keeping the shelter open all year, Ahearn said. Mayor Miro Weinberger is also watching the pilot to see if adding a year-round shelter is beneficial, according to a spokesperson.
“The city is really curious about it. We are curious to a certain extent,” Ahearn said. “There’s always some concern about building more shelter versus building more affordable housing.”
Ahearn said that the extension will allow CHCB to see if there would still be a demand for the shelter in warm weather months.
“We really wanted to make a thoughtful, mindful decision to say, how can we use money responsibly to find out what that need is,” she said. “And this seems like a logical first step and we will take that information from and then decide what is next.”
The shelter is located across the street from CHCB’s Safe Harbor Health Center on S. Winooski Avenue. CHCB provides health services at no cost, including mental health and substance abuse treatment.
https://www.chcb.org/locations-providers/safe-harbor-health-center/
Geoffrey Pippenger, general and emergency assistance program director in the economic services division at the state’s Department of Children and Families, said the shelter allows the state to save money and provide better care.
in fiscal year 2018, DCF spent $288,601 on the 37-bed shelter from November 1 to April 15. This translates to $47 per person per night.
Those who the state can not place in a shelter during adverse weather conditions are placed in motels, which Pippenger said cost an average of $78 a night. This translates into about $190,402 in savings during the fiscal year.
But beyond the fiscal savings, Pippenger said motels can be isolating and the shelter provides access to valuable support and resources.
“It’s a much better service model,” he said. “Instead of sending folks to the motels, we are connecting them with community, we are connecting them to invaluable resources and services that Safe Harbor offers.”
