We need more beds in Vermont. Not less.

Last month, Vermont Public shared a story about an ambitious effort underway here in Chittenden County: Champlain Housing Trust and Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO) are searching for a site for a new 100-bed, year-round emergency shelter.

The effort would add something our community badly needs: significantly more year-round shelter capacity and more opportunities for people experiencing homelessness to connect with services and move toward stability.

We hope Burlington and Chittenden County can get behind this effort and help turn the idea into a reality.

Read more about the 100-bed shelter effort → [https://www.vermontpublic.org/local-news/2026-07-24/wanted-large-space-for-100-bed-emergency-shelter-in-chittenden-county]

It is also one piece of a larger challenge we have been focused on at BBF.

Over the last month, BBF has met with service providers, City Councilors, Mayor Mulvaney-Stanak, and Governor Scott. We have advocated for greater shelter, treatment, recovery, and mental health capacity, accountability, and for a stronger state and regional role in addressing challenges Burlington cannot solve alone.

That work feels especially important as Vermont has moved in the opposite direction in another part of the system. Central Vermont Medical Center closed its inpatient psychiatric unit last year [https://www.vermontpublic.org/local-news/2025-01-28/central-vermont-medical-center-psych-unit-saved-their-lives-now-shutting-down] , and the Vermont Psychiatric Care Hospital recently reduced its licensed capacity. [https://www.wcax.com/2026/08/13/cuts-vt-psychiatric-hospital-beds-staff-spark-concerns/]

These are different services meeting different needs, but the broader lesson is the same: if we want to make real progress, we need to build the capacity that makes progress possible.

A safer and healthier Burlington means having places for people to go when they are in crisis, opportunities to get help when they are ready, and concrete pathways toward recovery, housing, and stability.

That is the future we believe Burlington should be working toward, and we will keep doing our part to help build it.

Best,

Sam