Emergency Shelter for Families with Children

Now Hiring Part-Time & Per-Diem Shelter Advocates! Click for more info.

With values of Inclusion, Learning, Collaboration and Persistence at the core, Winston Prouty provides inclusive education and family support to promote the success of children and families.

The intention of the Emergency Shelter for Families with Children is to invite families with children experiencing homelessness, the opportunity to join the Prouty Campus community and stay temporarily in one of two, 5,000 square foot buildings. This program, at a foundational level, will be a safe place for children. Intensive case management with securing permanent housing and exploring barriers to housing will be a primary goal of program participation.

Each building is a former dormitory and has approximately 10 rooms each plus full kitchens, bathrooms with showers, and living room spaces. The shelter will be fully furnished. The program will be able to temporarily house up to 40 people (48-person max depending on family size and reasonable shared floor/facilities arrangements).

The buildings are on a 184- acre campus, owned and managed by Winston Prouty, with 130,000 square feet of commercial space and 45 tenants. The campus includes outdoor play space, extensive hiking trails and green spaces, the Brattleboro Winter Farmer’s Market, and two high quality early learning centers. The campus has tenants with services in the areas of medical care, mental health care, legal services, and outdoor education. Winston Prouty provides an umbrella of services for children and families including Family Supportive Housing and Children’s Integrated Services. The campus is on the Monday– Saturday, MOOVER bus route and within a mile from Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, Memorial Park, and food/pharmacy/banking shopping centers.

As these two buildings become available after the close of a long-term lease arrangement, Winston Prouty feels like it is our responsibility to explore this opportunity and create space and programming that supports children and families in our community. This project has a limited scope, through June 2025, due to funding availability our plans to build 300 units of mixed income housing – housing for everyone, hopefully starting in mid-year of 2025.