You can have a role in addressing the shortage of housing in Windham County

By Chloe Learey, Executive Director, published in Brattleboro Reformer, May 3, 2024

The recent “Voices Live: A Conversation on Homelessness” at the Brooks Memorial Library in Brattleboro could have taken place in any town in Vermont and many of the same issues would have been raised. There is not enough housing, and people are struggling with poverty, mental health issues, food insecurity, and substance use that can be derailing. Who is responsible for addressing these challenges?

The answer is “us” – we are all responsible for doing whatever we can, big or small, to contribute to a thriving community. No one is going to come save us.

That is not to say that we don’t need help – assistance might come from the government (town, state, federal), philanthropy, and business (for profit and non-profit). However, it is up to us to harness our collective wisdom and resources, identify possible solutions, and proactively seek support to implement them.

The housing crisis is a great example of a challenge that requires our collective action to solve. Brattleboro needed 500 units of housing to meet demand 3 years ago, and we get further behind as each year passes. We need all the solutions and all the types of housing, from accessory dwelling units to rehabilitated apartments to infill development to multi-family new construction by public, non-profit and private developers. Our housing ecosystem is failing, and building a healthy housing continuum is essential to changing course away from economic decline. If we don’t change course, it is entirely possible that someone else will come in and “save us” in a way that leaves us little voice and control over building the kind of community we want.

Housing is the keystone we need to get in place so that we can tackle all the other issues. Matthew Desmond in his book “Evicted” asks the question “Do we believe that the right to a decent home is part of what it means to be an American?” (p. 300). He goes on to point out that the ‘unalienable rights’ that are the founding principles of the United States – life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness – all require a stable home, and that “without stable shelter, everything else falls apart.” (p. 300). Some might argue that people go unhoused because of their own choices and circumstances. Certainly, there are individual vulnerabilities that contribute to people losing their housing, but systemic issues play a large role. People create systems and we can change them. Gregg Colburn and Clayton Aldern, in their book “Homelessness is a Housing Problem,” offer an example of this by demonstrating that housing market conditions more than individual behavior drive rates of homelessness. Fortunately, we can impact our housing market conditions, and hopefully we will do it in a way that reflects our intentions to build a community that works for us all.

When people ask why Winston Prouty, a nonprofit that works with children and families, is pursuing housing development on our campus, the response is that we have a responsibility to do what we can to contribute to solutions. We view this land as a community asset, and our goal is to steward it in a way that benefits the community.

When there was a need for an overflow shelter in Brattleboro, Winston Prouty provided the space. When the Winter Farmers Market needed a place, we provided the space. When there was a need to house Afghan refugees, we provided the space. When the deadline for the motel housing program loomed and there was a need to house families without a home, we provided the space.

For the past two years, we have been trying to address the housing shortage in our area. We envision building a neighborhood where anyone can live, a diversity of ages, incomes, and family structures in housing that is affordable in a variety of ways for many types of people. The project will be phased, and our goal is to get 100 to 150 units online in the next two years.

We’re not talking about single-family homes on little lots. We’re talking about fourplexes, condos, apartment buildings, with the possibility of rental and ownership. The whole continuum must be robust.

One thing that’s very clear is Winston Prouty is not a housing developer. In the same way that we’ve been stewarding this property, we’re going to lead this process by marshaling the resources required to get it done.

Our primary need right now is to attract flexible financial resources from people and entities that are interested in investing in our community through this project.

Some funding streams that typically support housing development come with constraints, for instance in the form of income limitations on who can live somewhere or desired rates of return that impact a willingness to invest.

This is where you have a role. Do you know of an investment fund or other creative ways to invest in the project? We have an opportunity to impact the housing shortage in Windham County. Please send me an email (chloe at Winston Prouty.org) or call me at 802-257-7852 with your suggestions. We can’t afford to wait.