Happy New Year from CVOEO

Dear Friends,

We want you to know how much we appreciate your support and partnership. Your warmth, generosity, and compassion run deeply through us, giving all of us at CVOEO the faith and confidence in our service and in our community. And more than anything else, I want you to know that we have an extraordinary team here at CVOEO. They think creatively and act quickly in emergent times, they step forward—not back—in moments of challenge, and they remain grounded in care and commitment even as they witness the pain of others. Thank you for being with us.

On Christmas Day, we opened the extreme cold weather shelter at the Miller Center in Burlington. Our guests were picked up by our outreach teams—each one cold, hungry, and seeking warmth and safety. We welcomed a young person with two service dogs to support their medical needs, along with people experiencing trench foot, infections, and other serious health conditions. There is something profoundly moving to be in the quiet of the night, listening to people settle, watching bodies slowly relax, seeing safety take hold. And it is something to consider that on another Christmas Day, we have so many people left outside—outside of our systems of care and too often outside of community. Yet we are reminded that when people come together with urgency and compassion, lives are steadied and hope is restored.

This past year at CVOEO, we imagined more, worked harder, and grew stronger together as an organization. We took on a new family shelter in Chittenden County, opened an additional domestic violence shelter in Franklin County, and launched a new community action office and food hub in Addison County. We expanded our Burlington Food Shelf and Community Resource Center; we opened a 26-bed warming shelter; laid the foundation for a new recovery shelter called Bridges—which will open on February 1; and began a fundraising campaign to develop a new food shelf and food hub in the South End of Burlington at CVOEO’s main office.

This past year, we dedicated our main house at the Champlain Place shelter in Burlington to Katie Hartnett, now called Katie’s Meeting House. Katie was a spark in our community, repeatedly showing up for people experiencing homelessness. We do our work at Champlain Place in her memory and with the understanding that young people inherit what we build. Across our organization, we strive to leave behind actions and systems rooted in care, and a community shaped by compassion and responsibility to one another.

There is joy and hope in this work because we are continually reminded how deeply connected we all are. That connection allows us to set aside judgment and meet one another with humanity and grace. We serve lifelong Vermonters struggling to make ends meet; families with children fleeing violence in other countries; women in our domestic violence shelters who are rebuilding their lives after being trafficked; elders living in our shelter or receiving services out on the street; and young children whose earliest experiences include homelessness. We support individuals with disabilities and mental health challenges, as well as people who are working and still cannot afford housing. Through all of this, alongside hardship, we witness resilience, courage, and the possibility of change.

As we look to bridge gaps by providing emergency services, we also continue building futures and pathways out of poverty through our Weatherization, Financial Futures, Housing Advocacy, and Head Start programs. All CVOEO programs work together, alongside you, to lift up the community where we share our lives.

As we enter this new year, you have our pledge to help carry the voices, the words, and the hopes of our entire community into the year ahead. We move forward together with gratitude, confidence, and the resolve that collective care makes all the difference.

With gratitude,

Paul Dragon
Executive Director, CVOEO