Feeding Champlain Valley has announced that they will be returning to Burlington with a food truck tomorrow, April 16. The ‘Good Food’ Truck will be parked at 186 Pearl Street from 10:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. In a Facebook post, staff said that “Everyone is welcome. No cost, no catch—just good food for all.”
Vermont has begun using Medicaid to bolster housing navigation and housing sustaining services to eligible individuals. The Department for Children and Families’ (DCF) Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) will be managing this project by partnering with five housing services agencies to provide assistance for 100 Vermonters experiencing chronic homelessness who have associated health and social needs.
President Donald Trump's administration has moved to reshape federal government spending, including rescinding money that had been promised to groups in Vermont. Vermont Public is tracking these cuts and their impacts in the table below based on reporting from our journalists. Decisions have been coming rapidly, and the status of funds can change through administrative actions or court challenges. To account for this fluctuation, each line of the table includes the date of the latest information.
A diverse, statewide group of 119 Vermont businesses, nonprofits, and faith communities published an open letter to Governor Scott and state lawmakers today, urging them to use the power of elected office to support and protect Vermonters from harmful and unconstitutional federal actions. The letter comes in response to unprecedented attacks on constitutional rights, state and local government autonomy, and the nation’s civic infrastructure.
A Hinesburg mobile home park went without running water for a week earlier this month while its management company tried to fix a leak in one of the park’s water pipes. Sunset Lake, off Richmond Road, is a resident-owned cooperative with 55 individual homes. Residents there collectively own the park and govern themselves through a co-op board. The board also contracts with Majestic Property Management to run day-to-day operations. While Sunset Lake is connected to the town water supply, the co-op owns and is responsible for the pipes on their own property.
This winter, Community Bank partnered with the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO) to match $25,000 in donations to the Warmth Support Program, which provides emergency funding to help households pay for heating, fuel and basic electrical needs during Vermont’s coldest months. Community Bank recently presented CVOEO with the $25,000 matching donation to mark the conclusion of this year’s campaign, which raised $55,263 to support neighbors in need.
The Trump administration's slash-and-burn campaign against "wokeness" and government spending is coming for the few services that work to curtail discrimination in Vermont's housing market. Late last month, the first swing of the ax struck a grant that funds a program at the CVOEO, which supports renters, homebuyers and landlords on issues related to state and federal fair housing laws.
Vermont's only statewide program dedicated to non-discriminatory and affordable housing is losing 80% of its federal funding. The Champlain Valley Office for Economic Opportunity's Fair Housing Project is granted annual funding from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. According to the cancellation letter sent to CVOEO, “HUD is terminating this award because it no longer effectuates the program goals or agency priorities.”
Money can sometimes be a taboo conversation topic, but a local organization wants to advance Vermonters’ financial education. Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity’s head financial coach, Ilir Hasa, manages the organization’s “Growing Money” program, which offers personal finance classes free of charge.
The Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity will lose significant federal funding for a project that helps thousands of Vermonters statewide facing housing discrimination cases. “This really important housing justice work that we do will continue in some way, but the funding cut is going to limit our ability to serve people at a time when the need is just increasing,” said Jess Hyman, The Associate Director of Statewide Housing Advocacy Programs at CVOEO.