Moving Towards Home: Strategies for Ending Homelessness in Ten Years
City of Burlington, Vermont
February 2004

Appendix

Data and Existing Resources - Shelter and Housing

Emergency Shelter (Overnight) - Single Adults and Youth

Emergency Shelter - Families

Daytime shelter 

Daystation: Open seven days a week from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., offering a refuge from the streets and access to an array of services.

Transitional Housing - Single Adults

Transitional Housing - Families

Permanent Supportive Housing

Assisted Rental Inventory - Burlington Housing Authority (As of Spring 2003)

Regular = All households who are income eligible for Section 8 (50% of median income or below)
Homeownership = All households with an income below 80% of median, who meet employment and minimum income requirements
Project-Based Certificates and Vouchers = Same as Regular Vouchers Designated Housing = Single individuals or couples below age 62 who have a disability (mental, physical, developmental)
Mainstream Housing = Families in which the head of household or spouse is below age 62 and has a disability (mental, physical, developmental)
Family Unification = Income eligible families who have family members separated or at risk of separation because of homelessness or risk of homelessness.

Additional Assisted Housing (As of Spring 2003)

Demand: 

• Applications by families for assisted housing increased 7% in the last fiscal year at BHA.
• Applications by individuals increased by 17%.

Wait Lists:

• 267 households for public housing and 1,078 households for the Section 8 program for BHA as of spring 2003. 
• During the past few years, the number of applicants on BHA's master Section 8 waiting list has remained relatively level at around 900 to 1,000. 
• However, this number has to be viewed in the context of the fact that BHA has substantially increased the number of rental assistance subsidies available (from total funding commitments of 416 units in 1995 to 1,711 units currently). If the number of subsidies available had been static, it is fair to assume that the waiting list would have grown. · Because of the new subsidies available, wait times for assisted housing programs have dropped over the past few years. 
• The current wait time for public housing varies by bedroom size from immediate availability to 2 years. For Section 8 vouchers, the wait time has dropped over the past few years from 5 years to 12 months or less, depending on the particular waiting list. All waiting lists are open.
• Seventy-six percent of those on the public housing and Section 8 tenant-based assistance waiting lists are extremely low income (less than or equal to 30% of median).

New Affordable Units - 7/1/00 to 6/30/03

• Total development costs: Around $71 million for 531 units, or around $133,089 per unit.
• Approximate % of tenants at extremely-low income level (30% of median): 39%

Housing Placement Programs

• Rental Opportunity Center: A "one-stop shop" for low-income individuals and families (located in an accessible storefront office in Burlington) which provides a central database for assisted and affordable housing, available private market units, voice mail boxes for the homeless, transportation assistance, information on "Healthy Homes," and other resources. 
• Housing Assistance Program: Assists homeless or low-income families in locating housing and finding ways to defray the costs of moving, deposits and other related expenses.

Housing Retention Programs 

• Vermont Tenants, Inc.: Tenants' rights organization providing information and referrals. 
• Fair Housing Project: Information, outreach and advocacy to assure fair housing in the rental market. 
• Legal Aid: Legal assistance on federal & state benefits and housing issues including evictions. 
• PATH Back Rent Program: Cash assistance for back rent. 
• Rental Opportunity Center: Ongoing assistance to participating landlords and their tenants to resolve issues short of eviction.

Existing Resources - Other Needs

Emergency Food 

Meals: 

• Food Shelf: Free breakfast and early lunch served Monday through Friday and Sunday. Bag lunches available for take out.
• First Congregational Church: Free breakfast on Saturdays and sandwiches to go for lunch. 
• Salvation Army: Free dinners served Monday to Saturday evenings. King Street: Free dinners on Sunday nights. 
• Daystation: Fresh fruits, vegetables, milk and juice at the daytime drop-in center. 

Groceries: 

• Food Shelf: A five-day supply of emergency food once a month, with screening for Food Stamp eligibility. The homeless without a roof can visit once a week; the homeless with a roof, twice a month. 
• Sara Holbrook: Small pantry with emergency food available for those who have already accessed the Food Shelf that month. 
• Joint Urban Ministries Project: Vouchers for people in need of canned food, baby food, personal items, and diapers.

Medical and Behavioral Healthcare for the Homeless 

• Safe Harbor Clinic: Medical, dental, maternal/child care, mental health, and drug/alcohol counseling. Outreach teams provide services to unsheltered residents. 
• Community Health Center of Burlington's Adolescent Clinic: Medical clinic for teens.

Childcare for the Homeless 

• Child Care Resources: Uses state Early Education Initiative funds to place homeless children in 12 dedicated slots at local childcare programs and to provide additional supportive services to the children and their parents.

Income Data

Housing Wage in Burlington: $16.35

• The Housing Wage is the amount a full time (40 hours per week) worker must earn per hour in order to afford a two-bedroom unit at the area's Fair Market rent.
• An extremely low income household (earning $19,680, 30% of the Area Median Income of $65,600) can afford monthly rent of no more than $492, while the Fair Market Rent for a two bedroom unit is $850.
• A minimum wage earner (earning $6.25 per hour) can afford monthly rent of no more than $325.
• An SSI recipient (receiving $604 monthly) can afford monthly rent of no more than $181, while the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit is $638.
• In Burlington, a worker earning the Minimum Wage ($6.25 per hour) must work 105 hours per week in order to afford a two-bedroom unit at the area's Fair Market rent. 

Source: Out of Reach 2003, National Low Income Housing Coalition

Livable Wage - Moderate Food Plan

Source: Joint Fiscal Office, Vermont Legislature

Page last updated March 5, 2004