A group of business and community leaders will spend the night of March 29th sleeping outdoors, on the grounds of the Burlington Unitarian Church. Run by Spectrum Youth and Family Services, the sleep out is intended to help raise awareness of youth homelessness and increase funds to ensure that homeless youth have a safe, stable place to stay.
Advocacy
VHFA opposes South Burlington's interim zoning proposal
Today VHFA submitted comments to the South Burlington City Council in response to their consideration of a proposed Interim Zoning ordinance. VHFA is opposed to the proposed ordinance for several reasons:
Eldridge highlights elderly's housing needs
According to Nancy Eldridge, Executive Director of Vermont's Cathedral Square Corporation, programs that combine funding sources and care management approaches can provide cost effective, compassionate, and sustainable housing and care for low-income elderly people.
Cathedral Square's innovative SASH program (Support and Services at Home) is just such a program, as Eldridge describes in Sunday's Burlington Free Press.
VHFA’s Sarah Carpenter attends White House convening on affordable housing
On October 12, VHFA’s executive director, Sarah Carpenter, joined housing finance leaders from other states and from the National Council of State Housing Agencies at a White House convening on affordable housing.
HUD organized the forum primarily to engage key stakeholders in the results of the 20 regional convenings it held this past year, the FY 2012 HUD budget, and the American Jobs Act.
HUD Secretary Shaun Donavan stressed the importance of the housing community uniting in an effort to secure the maximum possible funding for federal housing programs. He urged groups not to “fight over the pieces… their share of the pie” but instead to “speak as housers, with one voice in support of more resources overall.”
VAHC urges "Yes" on Burlington's question #8
The Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition (VAHC) urges Burlington voters to vote "Yes" on Question #8 in tomorrow's Town Meeting Day vote.
The question asks whether or not to send a message to the Legislature to pass a bill protecting at-risk assisted Vermonters and their housing.
VAHC used donated funds to distribute more than 15,000 flyers to Burlington residents and post lawn signs to help get out the vote.
In addition to asking residents to vote "Yes" tomorrow, VAHC is looking for people to hold signs at the polls and help spread the word online about the vote.
VAHC raising funds for "Save Our Homes" campaign
The Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition is seeking to raise $1,500 for its "Save Our Homes" campaign aimed at encouraging the Vermont Legislature to adopt affordable housing preservation legislation.
The funds will go toward producing an information piece in support of a Town Meeting Day ballot item for Burlington voters to send the word to the Statehouse.
Approximately 2,600 affordable housing units in Vermont are in danger of converting to market rate rentals or condominiums over the next several years. Nearly 300 are in Burlington.
VHFA comments on state's Plan on Aging
VHFA submitted comments today to the Vermont Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living (DAIL) on its Plan on Aging, a federally required five year plan regarding the state's elderly population. The state's draft plan is clear that the fastest growing population is frail elders who most likely need supportive services, and that Vermont's elders overwhelmingly prefer to live independently. What is not clear in the draft is an identification of resources directed toward community based services and housing to respond to this growing demand.