Renovated emergency shelter reopens in Burlington

Read the article at mynbc5.com. Below is an excerpt.

After a year of renovations and program development, the Champlain Place Emergency Shelter opened its doors again on May 22.

Champlain Place sits on Shelburne Road and is the third shelter project that the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity, CVOEO, and the Champlain Housing Trust have worked on together.

This partnership saw updates to rooms and the building, while also providing more programming opportunities. These building renovations include new plumbing and heating systems, flooring and repairs, and an outdoor courtyard for residents.

This means there are now 42 year-round rooms available, and 26 cold weather beds that are available November to April in the warming shelter area.

CVOEO and Champlain Housing Trust directors, the Burlington city mayor, and State House representatives were all in attendance for the opening. They shared how important projects like this are to ending homelessness across the state.

"The people who are living on the streets and who are homeless right now can't get healthy unless they have a safe place to live. The first step toward good health care is having a home. That’s something we believe in and something we know is essential," Champlain Housing Trust CEO Michael Monte said.

The renovations include a new community space, dedicated to the memory of longtime housing advocate Katie Harnett, who worked closely with Champlain Place staff.

The space means that residents can participate in workshops, receive employment help, and engage in other support and social services.

Katie’s father, former Burlington city council member David Harnett said he was inspired by Katie to begin his housing advocacy, and that he is happy her work can be memorialized in this way.