This story, by Report for America corps member Carly Berlin, was produced through a partnership between VTDigger and 开云体育.
A winter warming shelter will open in the Queen City later this week.
The Committee on Temporary Shelter plans to welcome its first guests at the new 30-bed shelter at 58 Pearl Street on Wednesday night. With during the depths of winter 鈥� with tents coated in snow a common sight around town 鈥� COTS Executive Director Jonathan Farrell described the new shelter as a 鈥渂and-aid.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檙e stepping up to put a dent in the issue,鈥� Farrell said at a Monday press conference. 鈥淲e鈥檒l make a real difference in a number of lives this winter.鈥�
The new shelter will be open in the evenings, from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m., from mid-January through the end of April. It is open to individuals, not families, and is low-barrier, meaning it lacks strict sobriety requirements and 鈥渇olks can come in as long as they can navigate the space and not be harmful to themselves and others,鈥� Farrell said.
The space is 鈥渃ongregate,鈥� meaning it offers minimal privacy for those staying there. Cots are lined up a few feet apart, each with a tote bin for people to store belongings. A separate, smaller room is set up for women entering the shelter.
The shelter will have a secure storage area outside for larger objects and weapons, such as knives or axes, that individuals use while camping, said Rebekah Mott, COTS鈥� director of development and communications. Service animals will be allowed at the shelter, but other pets will not be, Mott said.
The new shelter is located steps from Burlington鈥檚 downtown bus station and a short walk away from COTS鈥� Daystation at 95 North Ave, where the organization offers amenities such as showers and laundry, and staff connect unhoused individuals to food benefits, housing search support and other resources. People interested in staying at the new Pearl Street shelter can now undergo an intake process at the North Avenue location, Farrell said.
COTS acquired the Pearl Street building, formerly a Social Security Administration office, through a at no cost if they鈥檙e aiding people experiencing homelessness. A somewhat lengthy acquisition process, however, , leading COTS to open the shelter with winter well underway. , the city鈥檚 seasonal shelters have opened in December.
COTS received about $1.1 million from , according to Farrell, which helped cover the cost of converting the office building and pay for staffing. The organization is currently searching for funds for a larger renovation of the space, to turn it into a long-term shelter with more private rooms, Mott added.
The Burlington facility鈥檚 opening comes as shelters across Vermont are generally full, , which acts as a backstop when traditional homeless shelters are at capacity. When city officials opened 鈥� in part because of the delay in opening the COTS shelter 鈥� dozens of people showed up.
鈥淭he housing crisis is getting worse, not better,鈥� U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., said at the Monday press conference. Vermont 鈥� and the rest of the country 鈥� needs to 鈥渢ake an all hands on deck approach鈥� to building more homes at a range of income levels, he added.
鈥淏ut in the meantime, what is so absolutely existential is that folks in the harsh Vermont winter have a place to come in, out of the cold 鈥� and at least have a place that鈥檚 clean, a place that鈥檚 warm, and a place that鈥檚 safe,鈥� Welch said.
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