$1 Million Donation Will Open New Family Shelter at Winston Prouty in Brattleboro
By Chris Mays, Brattleboro Reformer
BRATTLEBORO — A $1 million donation from a local community member will be used to open a family shelter on the campus of the Winston Prouty Center for Child and Family Development.
On Monday morning, the Prouty Center announced it received a $1 million donation from Nancy Braus of Guilford to open a family shelter on its campus. The project is “designed to provide safe housing for families experiencing homelessness in Windham County,” the center said.
“The shelter will serve as an immediate lifeline for families who have no stable place to live,” a news release states, “offering not only a roof but also access to support services.”
Braus, who formerly owned Everyone’s Books in Brattleboro and writes a column for the Reformer, used money from an inheritance for the donation.
“Watching the number of people experiencing homelessness in our town continue to grow has made me want to do something truly impactful and when my mother passed away in February, I was given that chance,” Braus stated. “She left me an inheritance, and I knew immediately all of it should be used to support our community.”
The family shelter is expected to open before the end of the year and run for at least two years. The Prouty Center said it will work with community partners to operate the program and connect families with long-term housing resources.
“This investment makes it possible for us to give families safety, dignity and hope in a moment of crisis,” stated Chloe Learey, executive director of the Prouty Center. “At the same time, it is a step toward the broader solutions our community needs.”
An emergency shelter for families was set up at the center from March 2024 through June 30, 2025 as part of a state contract. And for three winters until March 2020, the campus hosted an overflow shelter in partnership with Groundworks Collaborative.
Now, the Prouty Center is developing plans for affordable workforce housing on its 180-acre campus. The first phase of the project, dubbed The Village at Winston Prouty, is set to start this quarter and involve the construction of 28 units. The hope is to eventually build about 300 units.
“Leaders say the combination of emergency shelter and long-term housing is part of a vision to address Vermont’s deepening housing shortage,” the news release states. “Across the state, rising rents and limited availability have left many working families without affordable options. Community leaders say the shortage is especially severe in Windham County, where local employers struggle to attract and retain workers because of the housing crunch.”
Braus called her parents, Jane and Jay Braus, “long-time supporters of local organizations helping those in need across Western Massachusetts.” She said she knows they “would be proud to see these funds making a difference for families.”
“Every child deserves the security of a safe, warm place to sleep at night — a privilege I’ve always been fortunate to have,” Braus stated.
In an interview, Learey said the shelter will likely be in a lower dormitory hall and serve eight to 10 families or approximately 30 people. A sprinkler system will need to be installed beforehand.
A staff member at the Prouty Center, who oversaw the shelter and program for the last six months of its operations, will be returning to the role. Former shelter staff members are expected to come back.
“We’re going to look at the staffing structure,” Learey said. “It’s only one building so it’s a little easier to staff.”
Braus approached the center earlier this month about running a shelter again as she was aware of its past success, said Marty Cohn, public relations specialist.
“It was very fortuitous,” Cohn said. “This just fit so nicely with the vision of Winston Prouty and the whole housing continuum. Emergency shelter is just a piece of it as we move toward The Village.”
Additions to the housing stock will reduce the need for short term solutions, Learey said.
Cohn suggested the partnership in the shelter project should be seen as a model for Windham County and the nation as a whole.
“There is hope,” Learey said. “There are bright spots. We can do this. It’s going to take all of us working together.”
Cohn called The Village at Winston Prouty “a good place for people to invest.”
Braus said she approached Groundworks Collaborative initially, and “they are focused on the adult shelter in Morningside, and did not want to either change the focus of the already designed shelter or take on a third project.”
“Then someone, and don’t ask me who, told me that Winston Prouty had run a family shelter in the past,” Braus said.
Her deaf daughter, now 32, spent some time at the Austine School for the Deaf. The campus now belongs to the Prouty Center.
Braus said she remembered all the dorm space, and Learey was her second call.
“[W]e both almost started crying on the phone,” Braus said. “She was so pleased to be able to restart the shelter that they had not been able to continue due to funding.”
Braus said her parents “lived a more affluent lifestyle than I live, although not the super rich or anything like that.” They were big supporters of the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts.
Jay Braus died in 2014 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s Disease, according to an obituary. He was described as “a man of many enthusiasms and passions, marked by his zest for life, love of his family, love of art, travel, eating out, horse racing and making a great real estate deal.”
Jane Braus died in February at the age of 99, according to an obituary.
“She was a dynamo with a sharp wit and an elegant style, who loved her family, friends, supporting the arts and philanthropic and political causes,” the obituary states. “She loved reading books and poring over the New York Times every day and possessed a remarkable range of knowledge on many topics. She was a devoted mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.”
Braus said her mother left a large donation to the Berkshire Community Health Center, so the family shelter “really seemed right for many reasons.”
“We really need this in our community,” she said.
