Today, Building Burlington’s Future (BBF) announced a new partnership with the Abundance Network that establishes Burlington as the Network’s first affiliate chapter on the East Coast. The Abundance Network is a national membership organization that collaborates with civic leaders nationwide to achieve ambitious policy outcomes at the local level.

Building Burlington’s Future applauds Governor Scott, Mayor Mulvaney-Stanak, State’s Attorney Sarah George, Attorney General Charity Clark, and the many state and local partners who came together to launch the Chittenden County Community Accountability Court.

Burlington is facing serious challenges. They are complex but solvable — and they require exactly what we do best: creativity, collaboration, optimism and good old-fashioned hard work.

The City Council’s vote today on the City Hall Park resolution is a recognition that we need to do more to ensure our downtown spaces work for everyone. Recent incidents have raised concerns about safety and accessibility in City Hall Park. Families who once used the park as a place for play and connection are now choosing to stay away, which is a loss for our community. At the same time, people struggling with addiction and mental health challenges aren’t getting the support they need. Both realities point to the same conclusion: we have more work to do.

Recently, the City of Burlington has experienced an increase in discarded syringes in public spaces, posing a risk to public health and safety. We need to do more to protect children, unhoused individuals, and downtown workers, residents, and visitors.

For the past 4 months, the Peace & Justice Center and Vermont Harm Reduction Advocates have been leading an initiative called the BTV Clean Up Crew which meets weekly cleaning up trash and used needles in downtown Burlington. Building Burlington’s Future has been proud to support this resident-lead program and now we’re calling on the city to do its part.