Officials held a groundbreaking ceremony for COTS Veterans' Housing in Winooski yesterday.
The five-story, 24,000-square-foot building, at 120 West Canal Street, will provide 17 units of transitional housing for homeless veterans; and another 12 units of permanent supportive housing, long-term housing that provides access to an on-site manager and case workers.
Vermont is the only state in the nation that doesn't have a transitional housing program for veterans.
More than $1.3 million in federal neighborhood stabilization program funds are coming to Burlington to support housing.
Approximately $1 million of the allocation will allow Champlain Housing Trust (CHT) to purchase, renovate and resell six to eight homes.
The balance will be administered by Housing Vermont to convert the Thayer School (pictured) on Burlington's North Avenue into 100 units of family and elderly housing.
Vermont has received a total of $19 million in neighborhood stabilization program grants.
VHFA Policy & Planning Manager Maura Collins spoke at a monthly meeting of the Vermont Campus Compact today.
She presented some preliminary findings of the Vermont Housing Needs Assessment — to be published in the next couple months — and offered more than a dozen ways for college students to get involved with local housing organizations.
The Compact is a statewide consortium of 17 college and university presidents that promotes integrating public service into the academic, student life and civic goals of member institutions.
The Committee on Temporary Shelter (COTS) presented Erhard Mahnke with the Leahy Leadership Award this morning.
Erhard is coordinator of the Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition (VAHC) in Burlington, a member organization committed to ensuring all Vermonters have decent, safe and affordable housing.
The award, established by COTS in the name of Sen. Patrick Leahy in 1998, is presented each year to someone who's done an outstanding job of advocating for those in poverty and working toward long-term solutions to end homelessness.