Ellen Pratt
‘You may end up in a situation you didn’t welcome’
BRATTLEBORO-Standing on the sidewalk next to 9 Canal St., a multi-family apartment building above the Brattleboro Food Co-op, Windham & Windsor Housing Trust (WWHT) Executive Director Elizabeth Bridgewater points to a wooden trellis running up the side of the building.
"People are climbing up the trellis and entering the hall window that occupants unlock," she said.
Lawmakers press governor to respond to homelessness
Five lawmakers, past and present, urge Scott to declare a state of emergency as new federal figures show a rise in people living without shelter
Five former and current state legislators who have worked on housing are calling on Gov. Phil Scott to declare a state of emergency to address Vermont's homelessness crisis. They say the crisis demands leadership and a coordinated approach at the highest level. "Vermont's homelessness crisis is an ongoing emergency...
Advocates at edge of housing crisis urge lawmakers: Do something
In a state that will need 36,000 units by 2029, legislators hear from developers, landlords, and social service agencies about the current crisis — and impediments that discourage development of new housing
-The state's housing crisis will be a top priority in the upcoming legislative session, and housing advocates from southeast Vermont want legislators to hear their concerns. At a Dec. 9 Legislative Briefing, members of the Housing Coalition of Southeast Vermont - housing creators, housing service providers, economic developers, planners,
More
Brattleboro Town Meeting members reject behavior code
BRATTLEBORO-At a standing-room-only meeting at Academy School on Dec. 12, Representative Town Meeting (RTM) members voted 76–55 to rescind the town's recently adopted Acceptable Community Conduct Ordinance. Cristina Shay-Onye, District 8, made the motion to disapprove the ordinance, arguing that if enacted the ordinance would violate Constitutional rights and expose the town to expensive lawsuits. She urged town representatives to vote to disapprove the ordinance. Referencing the ordinance's "Behavioral No Trespass Zones," which include Brooks Memorial Library and the Brattleboro...
New ordinance will face scrutiny of Representative Town Meeting
BRATTLEBORO-"It's not about ordinance or no ordinance," said Mel Motel, co-director of Restorative Justice Programs at Interaction: Youth Services and Restorative Justice. "It's about a third way. What can we build instead?" Motel was one of five panelists who proposed alternatives to the town's recently adopted Acceptable Community Conduct ordinance at a Nov. 18 public information meeting at Brooks Memorial Library. Opponents of the ordinance have obtained signatures from the 5% of registered voters necessary to trigger a Special Representative...
Brattleboro’s first BRAT hire offers experience with ‘street life’
BRATTLEBORO-He's only been on the job one week, but Justin Johnston, the new community resource specialist, knows the Brattleboro Police Department (BPD) well. "I have quite a history with the Brattleboro police," Johnston said wryly. For years, he was engaged in criminal activity to support his substance use. "My values and morals, my ways of thinking at that time, were not based in reality as a productive citizen of our community," Johnston said in an interview with The Commons. "They...
Four towns address the housing crisis — collaboratively
LONDONDERRY-Vermont has a housing crisis - the state needs up to 36,000 new homes by 2030 to meet demand - and the quintessential single-family house on a large lot on a country road will not be the solution. "It's certainly not the future that local Vermonters can afford," said Chris Campany, executive director of the Windham Regional Commission (WRC). Instead, multifamily housing will become the standard. "Without a collapse in land prices or building prices that creates a massive housing...
Brattleboro to hire more police, citing rise in crime
BRATTLEBORO-After a summer of standing-room-only meetings about public safety in town, the Selectboard voted on Sept. 17 to adopt a new ordinance to address behavior and to fund increased police staffing. Board members called these actions part of the town's community safety agenda which includes implementing a downtown safety action plan, developing a community safety messaging campaign, working for state legislative reform, and other actions to address public health and safety in town. By establishing safety zones in town where...