As two state-run shelters for families experiencing homelessness opened their doors on Friday, staff rushed to finish work on the temporary accommodations. The two sites are in state-owned buildings about a minute drive apart in northern Vermont: the former state police barracks in Williston, and the former National Guard armory in Waterbury.
The Williston site, located along Route 2A near a bus route, has space to accommodate seven families. By Friday morning, individual rooms β each with multiple cots and several with cribs β had been set up. Phil Scott, on a tour of the shelter. As of Oct. Restrictions on the motel program will be loosened during the winter months.
But facing a severe housing shortage and maxed-out shelter capacity , many people leaving the emergency housing program have ended up in unstable accommodations. At the Williston shelter, each room will have its own lock, affording families privacy and a place to securely store their belongings. A large common space is filled by rows of tables, where employees from the Agency of Human Services will be onsite daily to help connect people to a range of resources, like food support and employment help.
A play area is set up in one corner, full of toys, many donated by the town, Wheeler said. Shelter guests will also have access to a kitchen, currently stocked with food donations. She noted that the new Vermont State Police barracks is just down the road.
The Department for Children and Families, which initially provided an incorrect intake number earlier this week, said families seeking access to the shelter can call for the Waterbury location, and for Williston. On Friday morning, the Waterbury Armory appeared to be more of a work in progress. Somewhat removed from downtown, tucked against Interstate 89 at the end of an access road, state employees filed in and out of the building on Friday morning but did not allow a reporter and photographer inside to view the arrangements.
