JOIN US from wherever you call "home" on Friday, May 21st for a virtual overnight campout and advocacy fundraiser to support Groundworks' mission to end homelessness in the Brattleboro area.  

WATCH our LIVESTREAM BROADCAST on Friday, May 21st at 7pm. The broadcast will include Q&A with our staff, as well as updates on our current shelter and housing efforts.  

In keeping with the need to allow for social distancing—and in order to highlight this unique time in our ongoing effort to end homelessness in the Brattleboro area—we're returning to a virtual broadcast for our 9th annual Camp for a Cause fundraiser.  
 

 “While we’ve made incredible advances over the past year in our mission to end homelessness household by household, the scope of need for housing has grown intensely due to the pandemic.” — Josh Davis, Groundworks’ Executive Director.  

We closed our Drop-In Center and Seasonal Overflow Shelter in March 2020—moving all shelter guests and a few residents of Groundworks Shelter into local motels to allow for proper social distancing.  Motels have been home to roughly 2700 Vermonters experiencing homelessness over the last year—Brattleboro motels have, at some points over the past year, hosted over 200 people.  Groundworks continues to provide support to roughly 172 individuals in 160 households sheltering in Brattleboro motels.  

We're wrapping up work on the newly constructed Groundworks Drop-In Center on South Main Street—ready to open our doors when the motel program unwinds. 

A proposal, currently in front of the legislature, would mean some individuals would be ineligible for motel rooms as early as June 1st, with those already in motels subject to the new eligibility rules as of July 1st.  Josh Davis served on the statewide Motel Working Group to advise the legislature on how to proceed.  

The proposal was drafted with the assumption that Governor Scott’s plan to spend $249 million of Vermont’s ARPA [the American Rescue Plan Act] funds on affordable housing units would mean we’re moving people out of motels with the understanding that housing would be available soon.  We continue to watch closely as the plan unfolds.  

This year, we're hoping that as the weather warms and more people are vaccinated each day, families and individual participants will be ready to get outside—potentially in small groups—and consider the question:  What has it meant for you to be SAFE AT HOME? during the pandemic.  This event brings participants and the community together for a live broadcast on BCTV, Facebook, and YouTube on Friday, May 21st at 7pm.  The livestream, which will include a live Q&A with staff and music from the DiTrani Brothers, will be available on Groundworks Collaborative’s website and YouTube channel immediately following the event.  

“This year, more than ever, we want the community to advocate for our neighbors experiencing homelessness,” said Groundworks’ Director of Development & Communications Libby Bennett.  “A tent is not a home, and we need to raise these vital funds to continue providing critical housing support services to help the people we serve find and maintain stable housing.” 

To keep up with the increased need, Groundworks’ Case Management Team has grown from five to 10 Case Managers (including a Landlord Liaison) working with people on various stages of housing navigation and retention.  

“We want to encourage as many people as possible to pick a camping spot of their choice and send us a photo or an update on where they’ll be sleeping in solidarity with our neighbors experiencing homelessness,” said Bennett.  “It costs nothing to participate and anyone can tune in for the livestream at no cost, but we do ask campers to help by raising as much money as they’re able to support this important work.”