Vermont Business Magazine This spring, guests at the Lamoille Community House will be forced to find another place to sleep when the seasonal shelter closes on April 15. But thanks to $3.8 million in funding awarded to the Lamoille Housing Partnership (LHP) from the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board (VHCB,) the Lamoille Community House (LCH) will be operating a new year-round shelter for people experiencing homelessness as early as next fall.
“This exciting collaboration creates an acutely needed community resource,” said Jim Lovinsky, executive director of the Lamoille Housing Partnership. ”It combines our expertise in affordable housing development with the dedicated direct support of the Community House to better serve our neighbors without homes.”
Lamoille Housing Partnership will acquire and rehabilitate the Forest Hill Residential Care Home in Hyde Park to create a 21-bed shelter for adults experiencing homelessness. When complete, the building will be leased to the Lamoille Community House, which will operate the year-round, low barrier shelter and provide guests with a place to sleep, cook meals, and connect to services. LCH currently operates a 12-bed seasonal shelter offering these same services in the Village of Hyde Park.
“People experiencing homelessness deserve a safe place to sleep year-round.” said Kim Anetsberger, executive director of the Lamoille Community House. “Our goal is to support people along their own path to stable housing. It’s difficult to sustain connection to services when we send them, literally, out into the woods with a tent six months of the year.”
A Shared Vision
Lovinsky and Anetsberger have each sought an appropriate site for a year-round shelter for several years. Not long after joining their organization’s efforts in 2022, an opportunity emerged when the Forest Hill Residential Care Home was listed for sale by its owner, Dave Andersen. Andersen is now actively working with residents and their families, as well as Vermont’s Department of Aging and Independent Living to relocate and ensure that the care-home residents are connected to services before closing.
“The community has really come together in support of our neighbors without homes,” said Anetsberger. “Every step of the way, we found partners, donors, and passionate individuals willing to help bring this vision to reality. From the Development Review Board and Selectboard in Hyde Park, to VHCB, to every single donation received, it has been a true community effort.”
When rehabilitation work on its new home is complete, the Lamoille Community House will provide guests with bedrooms, a community kitchen, office space for service providers to meet with guests, and a computer lab for telehealth access. The scope of work also includes building code upgrades and an improved energy efficiency package, which will lower the building’s energy costs.
"Partnership is in our name, whether that be with municipalities, organizations like Lamoille Community House, community members, or funders, LHP is always collaborating to create and preserve housing resources that most help our neighbors and communities thrive,” says Lovinsky.
Project funding comes from Vermont Housing & Conservation Board, Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, 3E Thermal, and funds raised locally by LHP and LCH fundraising efforts. Construction will begin in the spring with occupancy slated for this coming October.
Homelessness in Lamoille County
According to the US Department of Housing & Urban Development’s (HUD) most recently conducted annual Point in Time Count, Vermont has the second-highest per-capita rate of homelessness in the country. In early February, homelessness advocates in Lamoille County reported 167 adults and 60 children were experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness in local communities. More than half of the 137 reported households were sheltering in a motel, tent, or vehicle, on the street, or in temporary shelter.
Lamoille Housing Partnership collaborates with communities to create and preserve quality affordable housing opportunities for lower and moderate income earning households in Hardwick and Lamoille County. Since 1991, the nonprofit organization has developed more than 300 income eligible, affordable rental homes. Learn more at www.lamoillehousing.org.
The Lamoille Community House offers shelter, security, and hope to adults experiencing homelessness. With dignity and kindness, we provide guests with a clean bed, nourishing meals, connection to services, and a safe space to discover their own path toward sustainable housing. www.lamoilleshelter.org.
Hyde Park, February 13, 2023 — www.lamoillehousing.org www.lamoilleshelter.org
