►
From YouTube: Update on the Elmwood Emergency Shelter Community - Burlington Mayor's Press Conference
Description
From the Mayor's Office:
Mayor Miro Weinberger and community partners provide an update about the progress of the Elmwood Emergency Shelter Community.
WHO:
Mayor Miro Weinberger
Brian Pine, CEDO Director, City of Burlington
Michael Monte, Champlain Housing Trust CEO
Samantha Dunn, Asst. Director for Community Works, City of Burlington
2/6/2023
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A
A
That's
that's
really
just
a
small
piece
of
the
Innovation
that
this
project
represents
the
way
in
which
this
shelter
is
going
to
be
operated
and
the
services
that
are
going
to
be
provided
here
in
a
centralized
way
are
also
important.
Innovations
residents
in
this
low
barrier,
shelter
will
have
greater
Independence
and
ability
to
manage
their
lives
here
than
is
possible
in
congregate,
shelters.
A
In
short,
with
this
shelter,
we
are
taking
a
new
public
health
approach
to
homelessness,
to
wanna
speak
a
little
bit
to
the
broader
context
around
the
city's
work
and
homelessness,
and
this
is
a
piece
of
with
the
opening
of
Elmwood.
Combined
with
the
recent
expansion
to
the
city
supported,
shelter
notice,
the
new
place
is
operating.
We
have
nearly
doubled
the
city's
capacity
for
low
barrier
emergency
shelter
beds
over
the
last
year
down
from
about
50
to
just
short
of
100.,
while
the
the
sun
is
shining
today.
A
Just
last
week,
as
some
of
you
surely
know,
the
city
took
a
really
unusual
step
for
the
city
and
with
particular
leadership
from
cedo
and
support
from
the
state
agency
of
Human
Services
in
the
Red
Cross
and
emergency
shelter.
Emergency
cold
weather
shelter
was
set
up
at
the
Miller
Center
in
the
in
the
new
North
End,
which
serviced
60
individuals
except
Unique,
Individuals
overnight,
between
Thursday
and
Saturday,
as
the
wind
chill
brought
the
temperatures
outside
to
more
than
30
below
zero.
A
The
Howard
Center
Outreach
staff,
our
csls
and
the
housing
Navigators
and
caseworkers
involved
in
Chittenden
County
coordinated
entry
were
critical
in
reaching
the
unsheltered
and
vulnerable
neighborhoods
and
quickly
to
quickly
inform
them
of
this
new
facility.
That
was
at
the
Miller
Center
to
encourage
them
and
take
refuge
there.
A
Since
I
announced
in
late
2022,
an
action
plan
fill
housing
is
a
human
right
in
Burlington,
where
we
first
kind
of
laid
out
this
concept
of
a
new
35
bed
low
barrier,
shelter.
Two
people
in
particular
have
worked
enormously
to
make
this
possible
and
I
again
wanna
thank
Samantha
for
her
leadership
in
the
physical
development
efforts
and
I
want
to
thank
Sarah
Russell,
our
our
special
assistant
to
end
homelessness
for
her
efforts
to
bring
the
program
and
details
into
being.
A
A
B
A
C
Afternoon,
everyone
I've
been
thinking
about
how
to
create
this
new
community
every
day
for
more
than
a
year
since
the
mayor
announced
the
10-point
housing
plan
to
ensure
housing
as
a
human
right
in
the
City
of
Burlington,
creating
high
quality,
dignified
shelter
with
access
to
safety,
security
and
services
as
quickly
as
possible
has
been
a
huge
Challenge
and
one
that
is
worth
losing.
Sleepover
just
happened
to
realize
this
community.
C
Just
as
a
reminder
in
February
of
last
year,
less
than
a
year
ago,
the
city
council
actually
approved
use
of
arpa
funds
to
make
this
community
a
reality
and
then
the
next
month
the
Public
Works
commission
and
then
the
city
council
again
gave
us
permission
to
use
this
site
for
three
years.
For
this
emergency
shelter
and
at
the
end
of
July,
we
received
our
conditional
use.
Zoning
permit,
which
allowed
us
to
actually
start
working.
C
Every
step
of
this
project
has
taken
longer
than
I
wanted
to,
and
some
of
that
has
been
due
to
the
regular
construction
challenges
of
unknown
underground
storage
tanks
under
under
a
parking
lot
supply
chain
and
labor
issues.
But
the
real
reason
that
the
need
is
that
the
need
for
this
project
to
open
is
so
acute
and
so
that
every
day
the
shelter
wasn't
opened
was
interminable
for
me
and
tomorrow,
that
will
end.
We
will
well
welcome
or
CHT
will
welcome
the
first
guests
to
this
community
and
I.
Think
that's
something
that
we
should.
C
Thank
you
and
I
I
do
I
am
going
to
go
through
a
long
list
of
people
to
thank
because
I
have
the
deepest
gratitude
for
everyone
that
has
helped
us
get
here
today
and
I
I've
got
to
take
the
time
to
mention
them,
of
course,
the
city
of
Burlington's
arpa
funding.
We
also
have
special
funding
from
the
Burlington
electric
Department
that
allows
this
facility
to
be
a
fossil
fuel
facility
and
to
invest
in
high
performance
buildings
with
high
performance
mechanical
systems.
C
C
Finally,
we
had
donations
from
Minotaur,
so
one
of
our
pieces
of
high
quality
mechanical
system
was
donated
by
mended
hair
American
floor
mats
donated
a
doormat
for
every
shelter.
We
have
donations
from
Sherwin-Williams,
Farmhouse
group,
HomePort,
Northgate
apartment
residents
and
staff
and
the
First
Unitarian
Universalist
Society
of
Burlington.
So
again,
thank
you
for
allowing
me
to
name
all
those
folks
who
actually
made
this
possible
I'm
going
to
pass
it
to
Brian
Pine.
D
Foreign
thanks,
Samantha
I,
want
to
just
say
that
the
mayor
has
provided
the
leadership,
and
the
support
and
Samantha
has
been
the
primary
driver
behind
the
development
of
this
project.
So
without
her
we
wouldn't
actually
be
celebrating
we're
not
celebrating
I
should
say,
but
at
least
honoring.
The
opening
of
a
shelter
shelter
is
a
bit
of
an
odd
thing
to
celebrate
right,
because
it's
acknowledging
that
we
have
a
need
that
can
need
continues
that
we
take
care
of
folks,
For
Whom,
the
housing
market
and
the
system
is
not
working.
D
That
this
shelter
is
really
based
on
the
idea
that
we
can
end
homelessness
with
a
comprehensive
public
health
approach,
with
a
special
emphasis
on
both
the
mental
health
and
physical
health
needs
of
folks
who
are
experiencing
homelessness
and
I.
Just
want
to
note
that
this
effort,
this
drive
and
homelessness
among
some,
has
sort
of
Taken
on
a
bit
of
an
anti-shelter
tone
where
people
say
shelter,
isn't
a
solution,
housing's
a
solution
and
it's
actually
both
and
unfortunately
it's.
D
Actually
there
are
people
today,
80
of
whom
wanted
to
live
here,
not
80
folks
are
going
to
get
to
live
here.
We're
actually
going
to
be
able
to
house
35
people
so
just
to
give
you
some
sense
of
scale
the
need
is,
is
intense,
but
in
order
for
shelter
to
play
the
vital
role
in
leading
to
permanent
housing
and
housing
stability,
we
need
to
maintain
a
sort
of
constant
unending
focus
on
what
supports
people
need
to
move
into
permanent
housing.
D
D
D
So
we're
looking
for
a
really
you
know,
sort
of
game-changing
approach
here
for
folks
and
I
just
want
to
note
some
of
the
sources
of
support
we've
gotten
that
that
I
think
deserve
to
be
highlighted
as
well
as
our
partners
are
going
to
make
this
possible
the
operations
funding.
Without
the
Vermont
agency
of
Human
Services
office
of
Economic
Opportunity,
we
would
not
be
able
to
be
able
to
operate
the
shelter.
Basically,
the
cost
to
operate.
The
shelter
is
being
largely
funded
by
that
state
Source.
Our
most
significant
service
providing
partner,
is
really
cvoe.
D
Champlain
Valley
office
of
Economic
Opportunity,
the
mouthful
of
an
organization,
but
the
organization
that
provides
such
incredibly
critical
safety
net
services
that
I
couldn't
even
list
them
all,
but
when
you
think
of
what
people
need
to
get
by,
cvoeo
is
mostly
going
to
be
there
to
provide
that
support,
and
in
this
case,
for
this
shelter,
the
housing
case,
management
and
navigation,
Services
meals
will
be
brought
to
the
site.
Feeding
Chicken
in
is
a
program
in
Stevia,
so
when
you
think
of
folks
having
all
their
needs
met,
obviously
the
shelter
and
the
food
are
critical.
D
In
addition,
the
urban
park
rangers
are
a
critical
part
of
this
project
which
I'll
talk
about
in
a
minute.
Burlington
Police,
Department's,
Community,
Support
Liaisons,
are
going
to
be
on
site
and
connected
directly
to
guests
of
the
shelter
chocolate
thunder
are
locally
grown
security
organization
is
a
critical
piece
of
ensuring
the
safety
of
both
the
residents.
The
guests,
the
staff
and
neighbors.
D
The
following
Partners
I,
want
to
just
highlight,
were
critical
in
referrals
and
providing
their
expertise
and
really
that
tough
call
on
who
who
should
be
admitted
out
of
those
people
who
applied
to
to
stay
here.
The
Howard
Street
and
community
outreach
team,
the
quora
team,
which
is
an
Outreach
team
of
cvoeo
for
monitors
for
Criminal
Justice
Reform.
The
urban
Rangers
I
want
to
highlight
Neil
who's
here
today,
as
someone
who's
been
intimately
involved
in
this
process
and
the
tough
decisions
around
how
to
sort
of
decide
and
vet
people
for
for
staying
here.
The.
D
The
csl's
led
by
Lacy
Ann
Smith.
We
could
not
do
this
without
this
incredible
Coalition
of
of
the
willing,
if
you
will,
because
without
that,
we
would
the
city
on
its
own
would
not
be
able
to
pull
this
off.
So
certainly,
the
most
critical
piece
that
we
struggled
with
for
months
and
months
was
really
finding
an
operating
partner.
D
E
I'll
be
brief
and
I
won't
go
over
the
whole
list
of
names
of
all.
We
want
to
be
thankful
for,
but
certainly
we
want
to
be
thankful
for
the
city
of
Burlington's
leadership,
the
mayor
ceto
and
the
work
they
did
as
well
as
the
state
and
their
support
for
this
new
shelter,
we're
eager
to
welcome
guests
and
provide
them
with
a
place
that
is
safe
and
secure.
That's
the
key!
That's
the
key
model
for
this
particular
Community.
Our
goal
as
managers
is
to
support
Elmwood
guests
in
and
in
transition
to
permanent
housing.
E
That's
the
key
part
for
us,
that's
the
role
we
want
to
play.
We
continue
to
do
that.
We
move
38
folks
into
a
place
in
Williston
last
month.
We
can
continue
to
do
that
now
over
the
next
year,
so
we
need
to
get
folks
out
of
shelter
into
permanent
housing.
This,
of
course,
is
absolutely
necessary
in
transition
and
then
the
support
that
they're
going
to
get.
Let
me
also
just
while
everybody
was
thanked.
Let
me
just
say
that
all
of
my
staff
are
in
the
kitchen
foreign.
E
E
Gas
and
direct
service
providers
will
be
allowed
for
a
period
of
time,
we'll
review
that
over
time,
but
there
is
a
basically
a
front
door
and
you'll
you'll
see
a
staff
person
there
at
the
front
door
if
you
wanted
to
come
in,
but
certainly
what
we're
trying
to
do
is
keep
the
folks
who
are
living
here
and
give
them
a
place
to
live
right.
We
don't
want
and
people
just
roaming
around
for
first
in
terms
of
Safety
and
Security,
but
second
in
terms
of
their
own
individual
needs
and
support.
E
E
Let
me
say:
tears
are
rolling
down
the
faces
of
the
state
of
CHC
staff
as
they
as
they
talked
to
someone
said
yes,
come
we'll
meet
you
here,
I'm
not
going
to
give
it
a
date
and
time,
but
we'll
meet
you
here
and
and
we'll
get
you
all
set
up
and
they
continue
to
make
call
after
call
I
think
that
process
continued
throughout
the
week
and
then
it's
continuing
throughout
the
next
a
few
a
week
or
so.
So
that's
what
it's
about
right!
E
It's
about
meeting
people's
needs
right
where
they
really
need
to
be,
they
need
to
be
sheltered.
They
need
to
be
housed.
We
know
people
who
have
individual
challenges
and
they're
going
to
bring
it
to
this
community
a
little
bit
of
work
with
them
on
that.
But
that's
what's
key,
so
we'll
continue
to
sort
of
have
conversations
we're
going
to
continue
to
bring
people
into
the
into
the
into
the
community
in
the
stage
manner.
No
more
than
five
guests.
You
know
every
48
hours
to
allow
orientation
and
transition
for
both
staff
and
the
guests.
E
A
Thank
you,
Michael.
Thank
you,
your
team,
for
the
incredible
compassion
you
bring
bring
to
this
work
and
the
huge
impact
you
you
have
on
this
community
in
so
many
ways
and
are
going
to
have
been
here
with
this
new
facility.
Thanks.
So
with
that,
if
there
are
several
questions,
we'd
be
happy
to
try
this
one.
F
C
F
E
I
chatted
with
staff
a
little
bit
about
this.
So
there
was
a
group
of
folks.
It
was
CSC
staff,
a
few
folk
and
Siege
and
staff
folks
in
CBO,
from
Howard
from
a
few
other
organization,
Street
working
programs.
They
went
through
the
list
of
all
the
people
they
knew
were
on.
The
housed
were
also
applying
and
people
have
been
encouraging
people
to
apply.
So
the
process
starts
with
people
who
understood
working
people
working
on
the
street,
encouraging
folks
to
apply
to
us.
E
E
H
D
G
E
D
D
E
Run
Harbor
places,
so
we
have
a
person
who
shares
between
that
and
then
a
whole
group
of
folks.
So
I
think
that
the
value
of
CHT
comes.
Is
that
it's
not
our
only
Rodeo?
So
we
say
it's
not
our
first
time
also.
So
we
have
some
people
to
draw
upon
as
folks
need
to
go
away
or
if
they
want
to
get
sick
or
something
something
else
happens.
So
there's
a
little
more
depth
in
terms
of
support
and.
D
E
H
E
A
From
the
first
day
that
someone
arrives
here,
they're
going
to
start
working
with
a
housing
Navigator
which
is
towards
a
permanent
placement
and
be
offered,
as
you
heard,
from
a
long
list.
The
partners
here
are
a
range
of
services
that
I
think
it's
new,
that
we
are
going
to
be
able
to
provide
this
level
of
service
in
a
focused
way
at
a
shelter
and.
J
B
A
Of
cities
are
are
looking
at
this
strategy.
I
was
just
at
a
mayor's
meeting.
Several
weeks
ago,
I
talked
to
a
college,
shelter
and
I
think
they
said
they
provided
shelves
at
this
point
to
more
than
100
different
installations,
so
yeah
physically
there's
some
many
cities
that
are
are
taking
on
this
approach.
I
do
I
do
know
that
some
other
cities
are
are
talking
about
this
approach
to
homelessness
and
trying
to
as
a
public
health
approach.
A
A
And
yeah
Arco
was
the
bulk
of
that
funding.
There
were
some
additional
incentives
from
the
that's
where
the
the
capital
funding
was
largely
the
cities
Federal
allocation,
the
ongoing
operating
funding.
We
have
some
City
contributions,
similarly
from
our
emergency
funds,
but
this
we
are
very
appreciative.
As
was
mentioned,
the
agency
of
Human
Services
is
a
major
partner
in
this
effort
into
providing
it's
given
us
a
two-year
commitment
and
I
forget
the
total
figure
exactly
it's.
A
Which,
in
part
there
support
comes
to
the
fact
that
it
is
very
comparable,
actually
lower
cost
per
night
here
on
an
operating
basis
than
in
other
facilities
and
again
for
a
very
different
quality
of
experience.
Humiliation
in
many
cases,
so
I
think
there's
we're
providing
good
value
for
kind
of
government
dollar
here
in
HS.
Rep
recognizes
that
and
that
has
really
been
working
with
us
closely
for
months
to
to
get
to
this
day.
H
So
you
mentioned,
there
were
80
people
that
applied
35
events,
so
like
half
the
people
that
wanted
us
less
than
half
the
people
who
got
us
face
so
I'm
just
wondering
if
there's
a
for
CHT,
do
you
have
a
plan
of
how
quickly
you
want
to
try
to
move
people
from
here
to
more
permanent
housing
like
what
your
pipeline
is?
Looking
like,
yeah
I
can't
I.
E
I
can't
really
comment
through
detail
on
that
when
I
do
oh
and
I
really
can't
say
how
fast
we
can
move
people
through.
So
there's
a
lot
of
work
to
get
folks
ready
to
housing,
there's
a
huge
demand.
We
have
300
people
applying
to
us
every
month.
We
have
that
many
openings
a
year,
so
the
demand
of
affordable
housing
is
dramatic.
E
We
want
to
be
able
to
sort
of
get
people
out
of
homelessness
into
affordable
housing,
but
we
also
have
to
make
sure
that
we're
not
sort
of
creating
this
pipeline,
where
agua
won't
get
homeless
for
a
week,
so
I
can
get
in
real
fast.
We
have
to
work
with
folks,
so
I
I
can't
tell
you
how
quickly
we'll
turn
it
over
I
thought.
E
I
think
we
want
to
be
able
to
go
as
fast
as
we
can
and
different
people,
depending
on
who
they
are,
might
be
able
to
get
different
resources
and
be
able
to
move
to
different
locations,
but
I
just
don't
want
to
jump
ahead
and
make
too
much
of
a
commitment.
Nobody
should
be
here
for
a
long
period
of
time.
That's
that's!
To
get
that's
the
goal.
The
demand
that
the
need
is
still
there.
E
So
that
gives
you
a
sense
dedicated
right
over
the
next
year
or
two,
so
people
will
have
a
chance
to
get
housed,
but
you
know
we
also
have
people
in
shelters
and
so
people
and
hotel
rooms-
and
we
have
this
location
so
there's
a
range
of
folks.
Everything
goes
through
the
coordinated
entry
system.
Thank
you
very
much
for
reminding
me
as
I.
Look
at
you.
E
Everybody
goes
to
the
coordinated
entry
system,
so
these
folks
will
be
a
part
of
that
system
and
we'll
also
get
in
line
to
get
new
housing
as
part
of
that
system,
and
that
is
a
group
of
organizations
and
champions
who
are
doing
this
work.
Ceo.
Sometimes
a
co-chair
of
that
group,
as
well
as
cboeo,
is
critical
to
making
it
work
in
a
range
of
other
agencies
who
are
working
together
to
get
people
through
into
private
housing.
So.
E
F
E
F
C
E
Sir
good
are
there
opportunities
for
the
guests
to
volunteer
to
do
activities
that
will
help
make
the
community
work
I
assume
that
they
will
be,
but
I
don't
know
if
we
have
anything
planned.
So
you
know
again,
I
think
we
know
what
we're
going
to
do
here
over
the
next
week
or
two
or
three
bringing
people
in,
but
we'll
see
how
it
goes,
and
if
we
find
ourselves
with
a
group
of
folks
who
are
saying
you
know
they
have
the
capacity
to
do
something
else.
E
Yeah,
certainly
we're
going
to
be
asking
them
to
help
clean
up
time.
It's
time
to
go,
you
know,
time
to
move
out
dinner
time.
Help
us
out
do
all
those
kinds
of
things.
So
absolutely
the
idea
is
not
that
people
are
going
to
wander
around
and
be
catered
to.
They
will.
They
will
participate
as
well.
They
have
to
participate
in
getting
themselves
well,
chances
are
for
many
of
them.
They'll
have
to
participate
instead
of
getting
their
still
life
in
order
so
that
they
can
move
into
permanent
housing.