From the Desk of Paul Dragon, 6/18/26
At CVOEO, we believe in collaboration and transparency. That’s why every week Executive Director Paul Dragon shares a roundup of updates and initiatives to keep everyone, from our 300+ team members to the broader community we serve, informed and connected. Here’s what’s new this week!
Weekly Update:
Congresswoman Balint Visits CVOEO Main Office and Feeding Champlain Valley
Congresswoman Becca Balint visited our main CVOEO office this week, meeting with our team and touring the future Feeding Champlain Valley market. She has been a strong champion for Community Action and Head Start, and her comments below speak directly to the essential work you do every day as community action workers.
Governor Scott Signs Homelessness Bill: Community Resource Center Funding Secured
Governor Scott has signed H.938, legislation that restructures Vermont’s homelessness response system by creating a broader continuum of prevention, shelter, case management, and housing supports. The bill represents a major shift in how the state intends to organize and fund homelessness services, including changes to the use of hotel and motel placements. CVOEO continues to have concerns about several components of the law, particularly where reductions in emergency housing options may outpace the availability of safe, appropriate alternatives for people experiencing homelessness.
At the same time, the bill includes dedicated funding for the Community Resource Center (CRC), which is an important and hard-won recognition of the CRC team’s impact, expertise, and reputation in Chittenden County and statewide. Having the CRC named in major legislation is rare and meaningful. It also means we will no longer need to rely on annual one-time funding requests to sustain this critical program.
There will be many implementation details to work through in the coming months, and CVOEO will remain actively engaged with state partners, community providers, and advocates to help ensure the system protects people who are at risk. I will continue to keep you updated as this work develops.
https://www.wcax.com/2026/06/17/scott-signs-homelessness-bill-restructuring-funding/
Farm to Family Coupons
CVOEO received $25,104 in Farm to Family Coupons this year. This is a reduction from last year, when ARPA funding was used to increase the number of coupons available for senior households.
Coupon distribution begins on July 1 and continues until all coupons have been distributed. CVOEO advocates have a robust series of 3SquaresVT and Farm to Family outreach activities planned, including staffing tables at farmers markets, coordinating with SASH staff and affordable housing property managers, visiting shelters, and conducting site visits at several senior housing properties.
Benefit Assisters Bill and Funding
Community Action Agencies helped lead a statewide effort to secure $3.5 million in FY2027 funding for Benefit Assisters. This funding will support community-based organizations in helping Vermonters navigate SNAP/3SquaresVT and Medicaid eligibility, applications, and benefit maintenance at a time when federal benefit programs are becoming more difficult to access and maintain.
The Community Action Network helped organize a broad coalition of providers across the state. Details about grant design and funding distribution are still being finalized. The Vermont Community Action Partnership had planned for a $600,000 allocation that would support one Benefit Assister at each Community Action Agency, including CVOEO.
Within CVOEO, work is already underway to build greater internal capacity to assist people with health insurance and benefit access. Four Community Action staff members—two in Chittenden County and two in Addison County—are taking the Benefit Assister coursework. This will complement the long-standing work of Stephanie in Franklin and Grand Isle Community Action, who is already certified as a Benefit Assister.
Feeding Champlain Valley and New England Survivors of Torture and Trauma
Feeding Champlain Valley (FCV) will partner with the New England Survivors of Torture and Trauma program to support Connecting Cultures at UVM. This partnership will help families access food in two important ways:
- First, the new FCV Chittenden Food Hub will include Connecting Cultures in our PantrySoft online marketplace orders. Connecting Cultures will be able to help more than 20 families place bi-weekly orders for fresh foods and pantry staples. Orders will be packed at the Colchester Distribution Center for the Connecting Cultures team to pick up and deliver. Many of the families served by Connecting Cultures may also be eligible for our Diverse Pantry program and could receive additional culturally relevant foods grown at Maendeleo Farm.
- Second, volunteers from Connecting Cultures will support our Chittenden gleaning program throughout the summer. This will increase our capacity to distribute gleaned produce while also expanding access to fresh produce for families served by Connecting Cultures and the Association of Africans Living in Vermont.