Emergency Cold Weather Shelter

CVOEO provides a continuum of shelter options across Northwest Vermont. For people experiencing unsheltered homelessness, the safest option is to access one of these shelters. Together, these shelters form a network built for safety, dignity, and continuity of care. Extreme cold operations fill gaps temporarily when conditions become life-threatening.

• Year-Round Shelter Network: Since 2020, CVOEO has opened an additional 7 emergency shelters. As of 2026, there will be eight shelters across the Champlain Valley, providing year-round, low-barrier, and recovery-oriented options. In total, there are 88 single beds (24/7 access with no set departures), 26 winter warming beds, 17 rooms for families, and we welcome upwards of 200 individuals a day in our daytime shelters.
  • Prior to 2020: Voices Against Violence’s Laurie’s House in St. Albans: Providing emergency shelter and services for individual victims and survivors of domestic and sexual assault and stalking.
  • 2021: Community Resource Center in Burlington: Providing daytime warming shelter to all.
  • 2022: Samaritan House in St. Albans: Providing emergency shelter for individuals.
  • 2022: Elmwood Shelter in Burlington: Providing emergency shelter for individuals (in partnership with Champlain Housing Trust).
  • 2023: Champlain Place in Burlington: Providing 42 year-round emergency shelter beds and 26 winter warming beds.
  • 2024: Voices Against Violence’s Safe Roots Healing Collective in St. Albans: Providing emergency shelter and services for 10 families who are victims and survivors of domestic and sexual assault and stalking.
  • 2025: Foundations Family Shelter in Williston: Providing emergency shelter for 10 families (relocated to Burlington in early 2026).
  • 2026: Bridges Recovery Shelter in Burlington: Providing recovery-oriented emergency shelter for guests seeking stability and recovery.

In addition to emergency shelter services, our work focuses on permanent housing solutions:

• HOME Family Voucher Program: CVOEO created and administers this statewide program through our Housing Advocacy Programs, aimed at families with children experiencing homelessness. Report available upon request.
• Family Supportive Housing program: CVOEO developed this program in 2024 with private funding to address homelessness. It is an intensive support program with wrap around services modeled on the Whole Family Approach. Report available upon request.
• Tenant Education Program: CVOEO has redesigned its tenant education program (now called the Preferred Renters Certificate). This is a housing and financial education course that provides a renter’s certificate. This is designed to prevent renters from losing housing and to have them access housing more quickly. This certificate replaces bad tenancy record for most landlords. We served over 300 people last year and the hope is to expand this program
• Eviction Prevention & Advocacy: We are actively involved in eviction prevention through our statewide Housing Advocacy Programs and we advocate for the development of more affordable housing, which is the ultimate solution to homelessness.
  
  CVOEO has consistently proposed a hub-and-spoke model as a solution for extreme cold weather sheltering. Although presented to providers and the continuum, this model has not yet been adopted. The CVOEO-managed model would significantly improve system efficiency by enabling organizations to open beds individually, achieve higher collective capacity, and streamline logistics. In addition, CVOEO has developed a separate proposal for a 90-120 bed facility to be built on state lands, in collaboration with a small cohort of providers (proposal available upon request).

CVOEO does not make the activation decision, rather:

Activation is triggered by:

• A state extreme cold emergency declaration, or
• A City of Burlington directive through its emergency management plan.

Once the decision is made, CVOEO opens, staffs, and operates the shelter.

CVOEO staffs the Emergency Cold Weather Shelter using personnel from all 11+ programs who work overtime in addition to their full-time jobs.

The Miller Center isn’t designed, staffed, or funded as an ongoing shelter, but rather it functions as a gymnasium and business, not a residential space. The Fire Marshal and city determines when to take this location offline for use as an Emergency Shelter.

Most Vermont regions operate under the state level 0°F threshold. Burlington currently functions under a local -10 degree emergency threshold, based on the City’s emergency management plan and historical practice.

For additional context, Burlington's Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak, shares that the State of Vermont followed the City’s lead by changing its own criteria of authorizing resources for extreme cold weather shelter to match Burlington’s criteria this winter. This means that the City and now the State will activate these shelters when temperatures reach –10 degrees, unlike last year's activation at -20. This criteria reflects the limitations of the City’s resources to operate an emergency shelter even with state resources.

Starting December 1, 2025, Vermont’s winter weather policy is in effect.
Under Act 27, eligible households usually receive 80 nights of emergency housing between July 1 and June 30 — but from Dec. 1 to March 31, that limit is paused.
(Eligibility is based on having an emergency need and no resources to meet it.)

What this means:

• If you used all 80 nights before Dec. 1, you can still apply for emergency housing this winter.
• Nights used from Dec. 1–March 31 do not count toward your 80-night total.

During this period, the state also lifts its usual 1,100-room cap, allowing use of all participating motel rooms. However, rooms remain limited and fill quickly.

• Donate winter gear to programs and organization serving the unsheltered community.
• Support long-term shelter operations.
• Connect with local advocacy efforts addressing root causes of homelessness.
• Direct people to safe shelter options.