Ellen Pratt
Housing solutions are few, while the need is great
BRATTLEBORO-It's a warm, late summer day, and Kayla sits on the curb at the edge of the Quality Inn parking lot on Putney Road, smoking a cigarette. Tammy sits across from her, playing games on her phone. Nearby, Amber is calling the state's Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) to renew the housing voucher that allows her and her fiancé and their 11-year-old son to stay at the motel.
Kayla, Tammy, and Amber are three of the 253 adults and 76 children experiencing homelessness who are housed at a law passed this legislative session, the program caps the number of available rooms at 1,100 during the warmer months. Priority for these rooms will be given to the most vulnerable households, including those with children, those who are pregnant, those experiencing domestic violence, and those over 65....
Taking it to the streets
New outreach program at Groundworks works to connect people with needed services
BRATTLEBORO-Groundworks Collaborative, which operates a 34-bed overnight shelter and food pantry in Brattleboro, has launched an outreach program to identify and serve people experiencing unsheltered homelessness in the community. The four-member outreach team provides "street-based programming" to people who are not already connected to services. In addition to distributing...
Making it new
An effort to turn old, rundown housing into new apartments gains traction in Putney
PUTNEY-"I love old houses and I love the idea of fixing them up," said Dawn King, who is among seven property owners who are working with the Putney Housing Solutions Task Force to add to the town's housing stock. "The more rundown they are, the more I love them."
More
Brattleboro sees a surge of new housing projects
BRATTLEBORO-New housing development in the pipeline could result in an additional 400 homes in town in the next five years if all the projects come to fruition. The individual projects, in various stages of development from conceptual planning to putting together funding, address the area's urgent need for workforce housing, affordable housing, and refugee housing. In 2021, Brattleboro's Housing Action Plan reported "a pressing need for more than 500 [housing] units." While none of the projects in the works are...
Brattleboro pressed to act on public safety
BRATTLEBORO-The topic of public safety dominated two recent Selectboard meetings, as business owners, nonprofit leaders, and townspeople expressed fear, frustration, hopelessness, and "compassion fatigue" about life downtown. During its July 23 and Aug. 6 meetings, the board heard stories of public drug use, business break-ins, and harassment. For those coming before the board, the message was clear: The community does not feel safe. Several nonprofit organizations near the transportation center on Flat Street - where town police regularly respond to...
Winston Prouty seeks to build 300 affordable housing units
BRATTLEBORO-Chloe Learey, executive director of the Winston Prouty Center for Child and Family Development in West Brattleboro, has a vision to build 300 units of diverse housing on the center's 180-acre campus. Guided by the belief that an inclusive community is ultimately healthier for everyone, Learey's goal is to provide housing that is affordable to many people with different needs. "I imagine a neighborhood where you don't say, 'Oh, there's the poor people's building. There's the old people's building,'" Learey...
Construction innovator looks to take on housing crisis
BRATTLEBORO-Talk to anybody about Vermont's housing crisis, and the subject of high construction costs will inevitably come up. It currently costs about $500,000 to build a modest apartment or small home in the state, according to the Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA). That's up from about $370,000 in 2022. High interest rates, supply shortages, and a lack of labor all contribute to these high costs. The result is a widening gap between what's needed (VHFA estimates 40,000 more homes will...
‘Nobody needs a 7,000 square foot house anymore’
BRATTLEBORO-A state pandemic-era program aimed at encouraging "mom-and-pop landlords" to create affordable housing is set to launch a second round of grant funding this spring. With millions of dollars to be awarded statewide, the Vermont Housing Improvement Program (VHIP) provides these local housing developers up to $50,000 per unit for the rehabilitation and construction of rental apartments. VHIP was launched in 2022 to address the state's declining quality of rental units and to provide suitable housing for Vermonters experiencing homelessness.