Burlington homeless shelter celebrates upgrades

Read the full article at wcax.com. Below is an excerpt.

A homeless shelter in Burlington is celebrating some upgrades. The Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity and Champlain Housing Trust on Thursday showed off renovations to the Champlain Place emergency shelter.

“The people who are living and are homeless on the street now can’t get healthy unless they have a safe place to live,” said Michael Monte with the Champlain Housing Trust.

Community members, advocates, and state leaders celebrated Champlain Place’s evolution as a low-barrier shelter. ”We’ll take anyone,” said Tiffany Rich, Champlain Place’s director.

Upgrades include new floors, a sprinkler system, and new plumbing and electrical. The shelter now has 42 year-round beds and 26 cold-weather beds available from November to April.

Along with showing off the new digs, advocates also unveiled a new space on the property known as Katie’s Meeting House and Community Garden. It honors Katie Hartnett, an advocate for Burlington’s homeless, who died in 2023. “She made it her mission from a very young age that she wanted to make an impact and try to help people that were homeless,” said David Hartnett, Katie’s dad.

The meeting house will be used for various programs and helping residents connect with resources to help get them back on their feet. Hartnett, a former Burlington city councilor, says this is the perfect way for his daughter to be remembered. “Katie was very much involved in opening up the first low-barrier shelter in Burlington -- which was quite an event -- and she was very proud of that,” he said.

Extending a helping hand in Katie’s name. “This is such a small community here, and we really see all walks of life,” Rich said.

The plan is to set up the community garden next week.