The city of Burlington has rejected a plan by the owners of a hostel to use
their Main
Street
facility as a shelter for homeless families during the winter.
Spectrum
Youth and Family Services is opening a new eight-unit residence in Burlington this week near its Pearl Street drop-in center and shelter. The agency has seen an increase in the young-adult
homeless population since the economic downturn in 2008.
Low-income advocates
in Rockingham and its village of Bellows Falls are working overtime this winter to find safe
lodging for people who are homeless. The
town’s overnight warming shelter is closed for lack of a zoning permit, and its
supporters have been scrambling for alternatives.
Cold weather and the poor economy have swelled the ranks of people needing
emergency housing, and homeless shelters are
filled to capacity this winter. But
there is also some good news. Federal stimulus money is helping some of the
homeless find housing.