This story by Matthew Thomas was first published in The Bridge on July 9.
The long search for the right site for a homeless shelter in Montpelier may be over. If all goes as planned, the former Central Vermont Solid Waste Management office at 137 Barre Street may soon house a new, permanent 18-bed emergency shelter.
In a June 21 press release, Good Samaritan Haven (central Vermont’s shelter network, also known as “Good Sam”) announced that it has signed a purchase and sale agreement for 137 Barre Street, a building that has gone up for sale because the solid waste management district has found a new home in Berlin. The building — a large blue Victorian style house — shares a driveway with Another Way, a “sanctuary for those with psychiatric disabilities,” according to its website, and an organization that, like Good Sam, offers an array of services to those without housing.
Good Sam plans for a “partial soft opening” this November and to be fully operational in January 2026, the release noted.
Julie Bond, Good Sam’s executive director, said the organization provides services to 475 to 500 people annually through direct shelters, along with its community-, street- and motel-outreach program.
The property will become a semi-congregate (“dorm-style”) shelter serving adults aged 18 to 80 plus, Bond said. Similar to Good Sam’s 17-bed flagship shelter in Barre, the Montpelier shelter will have multiple beds in each sleeping room, several common rooms, shared bathrooms, and a kitchen, along with laundry and staff offices, Bond
added.
The new shelter will also provide housing case management and some community health case management onsite, said Bond. “These services will support and connect guests with housing opportunities, job training opportunities, connection to social services and medical and mental health partners in the area,” she added, along with visiting service providers from community partners.
Aligning with Montpelier’s housing plan, the city has been “wonderfully supportive,” of the new shelter, Bond said. “We’ve been providing seasonal/winter shelter for the last several years, and it’s very intense and resource-heavy to ramp up, operate, and ramp down each season versus operating a shelter year round.”
In order to create a more grounded and settled environment, Bond said, “Guests will not have to leave during the day … allowing folks to heal, settle, and have the time, space, and peace to meet their housing and other goals.”
Another important feature of the Barre Street site, Bond said, is that it sits well out of the floodplain. Two of their current shelters are flood-prone, and safely sheltering guests is an organizational priority, she said.
Good Samaritan is a 90-day program, said Bond, although longer-than-average stays may happen because of the state’s housing crisis. During this time, guests receive assistance meeting their housing goals. The program has a standard intake process and is not a drop-in shelter. None of its shelters currently serve families, she said.
“With the motel exodus this week,” said Bond, “we will be supporting many more people who must leave the motels after their 80 days have run out and they have nowhere else to go but to tent outdoors, exposed to the elements.” She added that most are living with major medical, cognitive, developmental, or mental health challenges.
Along with the city of Montpelier, Good Sam is working with the state of Vermont’s Office of Economic Opportunity and the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board and has hired Evernorth, a nonprofit focused on helping low- and moderate-income people across northern New England create affordable housing and make community investments. Together, Good Sam and Evernorth are working to secure the funding to acquire the property, Bond said.
While still in the early stages, Bond said she looks forward to connecting with future neighbors of the new shelter to share plans of what she called a “steppingstone in this community.”
Of those experiencing homelessness in Vermont, Bond said, “The situation continues to be dire and we need more creative solutions while keeping people sheltered in place until those solutions are fully realized.”
Those needing assistance can contact Good Samaritan Haven at 802-479-2294.
