Featured Town Meeting Day Results! (Live)

homelessness

Homeless Nation: Perspectives from Burlington Community Members 10/29/2024

Community member James Crawford meets with April Fisher, Pathways Vermont Community Center Supervisor and community member Serene Baldwin on this episode of Homeless Nation, in which he interviews fellow homeless people about their lives. It is a show from the perspectives of Burlington community members with lived experiences of homelessness. They talk about what it's like to be homeless, the challenges they have faced, and what they believe society should do to make housing accessible for all.

For more information visit: www.pathwaysvermont.org/about/contact

Education and Enrichment for Everyone: What Can You Do with $20 Million - From Homelessness to Homeownership 03/01/2024

Presented by Michael Monte, CEO, Champlain Housing Trust.

For more information visit: eeevermont.org

State of Affairs in the Community and Resources Through CEDO/BPD 11/03/2023

Host Meghan O'Rourke, CCTV, is joined by Sarah Russell, CEDO Special Assistant to End Homelessness, Scott Pavek, CEDO Substance Use Policy Analyst, Rachel Jolly, CEDO Assistant Director, CJC, as well as Lacey-Ann Smith, BPD Community Support Supervisor at BPD, to share information about the City's work.

Sarah shares information about the Chittenden County Homeless Alliance and Coordinated Entry as well as the data around homelessness. Lacey shared information about Crisis, Advocacy and Intervention Programs (CAIP) and what’s happened since 2020. Scott shares information about Overdose Prevention sites and drug checking. Rachel shares information about Pretrial Services and Tamarack programs, the data/anecdotes we’ve observed over the last few years, and the gaps in treatment.

For more infromation visit: www.burlingtonvt.gov/cedo | www.burlingtonvt.gov/police/CAIP | www.burlingtoncjc.org/cedo

Burlington Mayor's Press Conference: Update on the City’s Initiatives to Support Unsheltered Homelessness 10/10/2023

From the Mayor's Office and Burlington Parks Rec and Waterfront:

Mayor Miro Weinberger and community partners provide an update on the progress of several initiatives to support people living without shelter in the community, including the Administration’s proposal to create a temporary winter warming shelter for the cold weather season.

With Mayor Miro Weinberger; Sarah Russell, Special Asst. to End Homelessness, City of Burlington; Paul Dragon, Executive Director, CVOEO; Michelle Caver, VFW Post 782; and Miranda Gray, Deputy Commissioner of Economic Services Division, Department for Children and Families.

Complex Systems and Homelessness with Yoshi Bird 09/15/2023

Host Meghan O'Rourke interviews Yoshi Bird, Project Director of the Vermont Zoning Atlas, about the project on mapping housing, data, and homelessness.

For more information visit: http://www.zoningatlas.org/vermont

Chittenden County Homeless Alliance Housing Meeting 06/08/2023

From the organizer:

The Chittenden County Homeless Alliance (CCHA) is holding a community meeting on Thursday, June 8th at 4:30 in the South Burlington Library. The CCHA is comprised of individuals and organizations in Chittenden County who provide support services and resources for people experiencing homelessness or housing instability and who want to work together to make homelessness rare and brief. The CCHA meets monthly, we hold two community meetings every year with the goals of 1.) Providing information to the community about how the organizations are working together to make homelessness rare and brief in the community and 2.) Encouraging community members to participate with the CCHA for advocacy and to ensure our work is informed and guided by members of the community.

The CCHA is particularly interested in our work being informed and guided by community members with have lived experience of homelessness. This input will help inform and improve the services the organizations provide in the community and guides strategic planning and resource allocation.

Burlington Mayor's Press Conference: Update on Chittenden County Response to Motel Program Sunset 06/05/2023

From the Mayor's Office:

Mayor Weinberger and regional partners provide a briefing on the City’s and Chittenden County Homeless Alliance’s Letters of Intent submitted on June 1 in response to the Vermont Department of Child and Family Services’ call for proposals to support homeless response efforts. As Vermont’s most populous city and a community with a robust concentration of resources including state agencies, community health centers, public transportation, MOUD providers, and non-governmental organizations that support basic needs, Burlington expects to shoulder the bulk of the challenge caused by the sudden sunset of the state Economic Services Division (ESD) Motel Program within Chittenden County.

With: Mayor Miro Weinberger; Sarah Russell, Special Assistant to End Homelessness, City of Burlington; Will Towne, Co-Chair of Chittenden County Homeless Alliance; Kim Fitzgerald, Chief Executive Officer, Cathedral Square.

CVOEO and Vermont Folklife Launch Traveling Exhibit - In our words, in our community 05/13/2023

From CVOEO and Vermont Folklife:

"In Our Words, In Our Community" is a collaborative public arts and humanities exhibit created by Vermont Folklife and photographer Macaulay Lerman, in partnership with the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity, that amplifies the voices of our neighbors experiencing the complex dynamics of homelessness, food insecurity, and economic challenges. This exhibit is guided by direct input from a group of Vermonters and the social service workers who aim to address their daily needs.

"In Our Words, In Our Community" opens a window into the wide range of lived experiences in our region. Vermont has the second-highest per capita rate of people experiencing homelessness in the United States. This statistic reflects a painful and difficult fact–as Vermonters we all face economic injustice because we are one community. None of us succeed until we all succeed. Through "In Our Words, In Our Community" we work to challenge well-worn narratives about poverty, and to foster a deeper understanding of the experiences and perspectives of those who are often overlooked.

African Variety Show: Information on the Elmwood Avenue Shelter Pod Village and Community Resource Center 04/28/2022

From Host Jules Wetchi:

To respond to the ongoing housing crisis in Burlington, Mayor Miro Weinberger released his “Action Plan to Fulfill the Promise of Housing as a Human Right in Burlington,” a 10-point plan that outlines a roadmap to double the rate of housing production and end chronic homelessness in our community. In support of this plan, CEDO is working to transform the Elmwood Avenue parking lot for temporary use as an emergency shelter community and Community Resource Center for neighbors in our community experiencing homelessness. Updates and information on the project can be found on the CEDO website.

What is a Shelter Pod Village?

The Shelter Pod Village will have 35 shelter pods, which are small individual units meant to house one person. The Shelter Pod Village is for homeless community members.

VICII: Homeless in Burlington - The Case of Sears Lane 04/20/2022

From VICII:

Burlington has often been called one of the most liveable cities in the United States. Yet, even in a cold Vermont winter, unhoused people are without shelter and support from their city. This winter City authorities made the situation worse for those unhoused people who had formed a community in Sears Lane. In a surprise move, the City bulldozed this encampment summarily and sent the residents to the streets. In this questionable process the City destroyed the belongings of the residents, some of it priceless, like photographs, tents, and art work.

For more information: vicii.org

Featured Story

Town Meeting TV Announces Live General Election Results Show on November 5th

Town Meeting TV will broadcast our comprehensive live coverage of the 2024 General Election on November 5th, starting at 7:00 PM. Viewers can tune in to follow the latest election developments on YouTube at YouTube.com/TownMeetingTV, on Burlington Telecom channel 217, or Comcast channel 1087.