Transitional Housing Call to Action and Directory

To Our VBSR Community,

We write with a call to action. In the wake of the Scott Administration and the Vermont Legislature choosing to end the Transitional Housing Program (commonly referred to as the “Motel Program”), over 2,800 individuals representing 1,800 households, including a staggering 600 children, have been or will be evicted.

Just-released research shows that the number of persons experiencing homelessness in Vermont has gone up 18.5% since 2022 – an increase of 197% since our 2020 pre-pandemic data.

While VBSR will continue to call upon our elected officials and the Scott Administration to commit to Housing First policy, we are in the midst of a humanitarian crisis and cannot delay our response or wait for a legislative answer (for more on our stance shared with elected officials, please read our related statement).

Our Public Policy Committee has curated a list of organizations providing direct services and ways to aid that work – and we are committed to connecting our members with ways to help ease this crisis.

As community members, we want everyone to have access to safe, stable shelter, and consider this essential in reducing the opportunity gap and creating a healthy economic system that unlocks individual and collective prosperity.

We have a role to play in advancing social good and the wellbeing of our workforce. This is an opportunity to put our values into action, and we invite you to join us.

We sincerely appreciate your consideration in regards to this request.

In gratitude,

VBSR’s Public Policy Committee

(the below is non-exhaustive and we want your input to improve upon it; if we left something or someone out, our apologies – please let us know by reaching out to VBSR’s Communications Manager, Talley Summerlin, at talleys@vbsr.org)

Overview – What You’ll Find in This Guide:
Ways That We Can Support Our Community Members in Need

Gather New or Gently Used Items for Donation
Donate Funds for Direct Services
Host a Fundraising Event at Your Business
Explore Long Term Solutions to Homelessness Here in Vermont
Use This Directory of Programs, Organizations and Agencies

Ways We Can Support Our Community Members in Need

Soft, textured wool socks in varying patterns of blue and aqua.

Gather New or Gently Used Items for Donation

This is a general list of items that are likely to be in high demand and helpful as the Transitional Housing Program ends. To meet specific, sometimes-fluctuating needs, please coordinate directly with one of the suggested service agencies listed in the directory below.

Flashlights
Cord for tents, hanging food, etc.
Baby wipes (including some hypoallergenic ones)
Batteries
Sleeping pads and sleeping bags
Trash bags
Emergency ponchos
Tick and bug repellent Toilet paper
Small tarps
Tick removers
Mess kits
Ball bungies
First aid kits
5-gallon buckets with lids
Milk crates
Folding camp chairs

Battery-operated lamps
Emergency blankets (with Mylar)
Battery operated radios
Ear plugs
Small buckets & coolers
Cooking utensils & cutlery
Cooking pots & pans
Tarps (8x10 & 10x12)
Tents (3- to 6-man tents ideal)
Can Opener
Daypacks
Clean Socks
Personal items (bagged separately)
Headlamps
Camp stoves (BioLite preferred)

Black and white image of fanned-out U.S. dollar bills in partial focus.

Donate Funds for Direct Services

Local community action organizations and temporary shelters are working tirelessly to connect people with direct support. See below for a directory of programs, organizations and agencies that are in need of financial support.

Additional resources are needed in order to:

Provide motel rooms for people with extreme cases (such as medical emergencies or disability)
Fund transportation for people in need
Provide people with hot meals and access to food
Support increased staff hours and mileage supporting unhoused individuals

Overturned jar with a mixture of pennies and dimes scattered.

Host a Fundraising Event at Your Business

Many of our VBSR members have a long history with hosting fundraising events.

Some ideas on how to make a difference in this way:

Select a date and donate a percentage of the day’s sales to one of the organizations in the directory below.
Offer to prepare food to be served through a community action organization.
Select a product and donate a percentage of sales over a period of time.
Host a 50/50 raffle that benefits one of the programs listed below in the directory.
Put a tip jar on a bar or counter to collect change and loose bills from customers.
Offer to match donations made by employees or customers.
Host a house party to raise funds for your local community action organization or housing shelter.

Close-up of people writing in notebooks during a conference.

(Photo by Ben M. Collins)

Explore Long Term Solutions to Homelessness Here in Vermont

We are committed to finding systemic, long term solutions to homelessness – and we know you are, too.

Please join VBSR’s Public Policy Committee Summer Study group on this issue.

You can indicate your interest in participating by emailing VBSR’s Public Policy Manager, Kristin Warner, at kristinw@vbsr.org.

Directory of Programs, Organizations, and Agencies

Two women enjoying a sunny day at an organic farm.

(Photo courtesy of Vermont Foodbank)

As indicated in all the above suggestions, nothing is more effective than working directly with the professionals doing this work day in and day out as needs change.

Statewide:

Vermont Food Bank
- The Vermont Foodbank is the state’s largest hunger-relief organization, providing nutritious food through a network of more than 300 community partners – food shelves, meal sites, senior centers, after-school programs, schools and hospitals.
Community Rides VT / Capstone Community Action
- They are dedicated to creating resilient households and communities and to advancing justice in social, economic and environmental policy. They empower individuals with the tools and resources to move beyond poverty. Through advocacy and community collaboration, they champion positive social change.
Pathways Vermont
- Pathways Vermont is a statewide non-profit organization whose mission is to end homelessness in Vermont and provide innovative mental health alternatives. Since 2010, Pathways Vermont has been transforming the lives of individuals struggling with homelessness, mental health, and other life challenges by creating access to choice, connection, and home.

Services by County:

Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity Inc (CVOEO)
255 South Champlain Street, Suite 9
PO Box 1603
Burlington, VT 05402
Phone: (802) 862-2771
Website: www.cvoeo.org
Serving Addison, Chittenden, Franklin, and Grand Isle Counties (except Granville and Hancock)
Capstone ( serving Washington, Orange and Lamoille counties)
20 Gable Place
Barre, VT 05641
Phone: 1-800-639-1053
Website: https://capstonevt.org
Serving Washington, Orange and Lamoille counties
Another Way
125 Barre St
Montpelier, VT 05602
Phone: 802-229-0920
Website: https://www.anotherwayvt.org