Shelter for up to 10 families moving to Burlington

Read the full article at mychamplainvalley.com. 

For more than a year, a shelter for families experiencing homelessness has been in a former state police barracks over in Williston – a location that its operators described as a “stark office environment.”

Now that renovations are complete, the formerly state-run shelter is moving to downtown Burlington at 204 Pearl Street, where it will house 8 to 10 families.

A spokesperson said that the new shelter will be a “therapeutic, trauma-informed, and safe space” and said the renovations were mainly to add necessary utilities and safety features, including a sprinkler system.

The Foundations Family Shelter is operated by CVOEO, the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity, and CHT, the Champlain Housing Trust.

Michael Monte, the CEO of CHT, says that the organization “renovated this building because adding to the supply of safe shelter right now is critical – even while we all know the ultimate solution is more permanently affordable housing.”

There was an open house scheduled for anyone who wanted to see the new building on Monday at 11:00 a.m., but given the heavy snow forecast, CVOEO later reached out saying they would reschedule that event for a later date.