Vermont’s proposed 100-bed shelter faces site, funding and operating tests

Two Chittenden County nonprofits are searching for a building for a proposed year-round, 100-bed emergency shelter as Vermont begins implementing a new statewide homelessness response system.

The Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity and Champlain Housing Trust have reviewed four possible sites but have not found one that meets their needs. No address has been selected, the project has not received final approval, and the organizations have not assembled a complete financing package.

If a site and funding are secured, the proposed facility could become Vermont’s largest year-round shelter. The organizations have said they hope, conditionally, to open it by the end of 2026.

What the nonprofits are seeking

The proposed shelter would provide 100 evening beds year-round for adults experiencing homelessness, with a focus on people living outdoors. The groups are seeking a purchase or long-term lease for a single-floor, open-concept, disability-accessible building of at least 12,000 square feet.

They would ideally find a site on a bus route within five miles of CVOEO’s Community Resource Center in Burlington’s Old North End. That location would give guests access to daytime services while the proposed shelter operated during evening hours.

Four potential sites have been reviewed, according to reporting by VTDigger and Vermont Public, but none has met the organizations’ requirements. The nonprofits have not publicly identified a preferred location.

The model would be congregate, meaning beds would be arranged in a shared space. It would also be low-barrier, rather than requiring sobriety as a condition of entry. The organizations are considering additional rooms or other areas for privacy, pets, medical services and food.

CVOEO describes the proposed facility as an evening walk-in site and a triage point. Staff could connect guests with other shelter programs and services, including programs focused on substance-use recovery.

Why providers say the capacity is needed

CVOEO Executive Director Paul Dragon told VTDigger that the organization counted about 250 people living outdoors in and around Burlington in June 2026. That figure is a local provider estimate, not a statewide homelessness census.

The proposal follows a winter in which CVOEO operated a large cold-weather shelter in a Burlington community-center gym when temperatures reached the state program’s trigger. The shelter typically operated for limited periods, and guests could be required to leave when conditions improved, according to VTDigger’s reporting.

Providers have described that intermittent model as difficult to sustain. The need has also grown as Vermont has wound down much of the expanded pandemic-era motel voucher assistance that sheltered many people experiencing homelessness beginning in 2020.

The proposed facility would be aimed primarily at adults living outdoors. It would not, by itself, serve every household seeking emergency housing or resolve the state’s broader shortage of permanent housing.

How it fits Vermont’s new framework

Gov. Phil Scott approved Act 143 on June 16, 2026. The law establishes the Vermont Homelessness Response Continuum, a statewide structure for coordinating prevention, diversion, emergency shelter, services and pathways to permanent housing.

Vermont’s 2026 HUD Annual Action Plan describes two federally recognized Continuums of Care: the Chittenden County Homeless Alliance and the Balance of State Continuum of Care. The plan says emergency-shelter providers receiving program funds must coordinate with local systems and participate in coordinated entry.

Under the state’s published homelessness-assistance standards, providers also must maintain written procedures for shelter access, local coordination, referrals and essential services. The proposed shelter could serve as an entry point into that system, but Act 143 does not approve the project or direct funding specifically to it.

The money is not yet assembled

Act 144, Vermont’s 2026 budget law, appropriates $1.4 million from the General Fund for shelter development in fiscal year 2027. The same budget section provides separate amounts for case management, rental assistance, the Community Resource Center and other homelessness-response activities.

That $1.4 million appropriation is not the same as CVOEO’s estimate of approximately $3 million in annual operating costs. The nonprofits are seeking state support for acquisition and operations, and there is no indication in the cited records that the shelter-development appropriation has been committed to this proposal.

Before the shelter could open, the organizations would need to find a compliant building, resolve any purchase or lease and renovation costs, secure ongoing operating money, hire staff and obtain any required local approvals.

Evening hours may require a state exception

The proposed shelter is described as evening-only. Vermont’s published Housing Opportunity Program standards generally require emergency shelters to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, unless the Office of Economic Opportunity grants an exception.

The standards list possible reasons for an exception, including staffing limits, zoning restrictions or shared use of a facility. They also require a daytime continuity plan so guests have access to shelter when the funded site is closed, including alternatives that do not require an appointment and are accessible to all guests.

The proposed schedule, daytime arrangements and coordinated-entry procedures therefore remain implementation issues to be resolved with state and local partners. Until a building, financing, approvals and operating plan are secured, the 100-bed shelter remains a proposal rather than a confirmed public resource.

Sources

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