Housing Team
(Est. November 2022)
Our team's primary focus is supporting the community, providers, local alliance’s and being of service to all in need. This includes managing a $25,000 Program Grant awarded by the Community Health Improvement Committee.
Progress to Date…..
Initiative #1
Tenant Rights and Responsibilities Training
CACH Objectives:
1) Support housing retention by training residents to better understand their basic rights and responsibilities
2) Provide residents of all backgrounds and experiences with access to legal services information and real time professional support (I.e. opportunities for residents to discuss their specific situation(s))
3) Support CVOEO to provide the Tenant Rights and Responsibilities Training(s)
Overview of the Training:
The team approved a $5,000 sub-grant to the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO) to support housing retention in the Winooski Community
The first sessions took place during the weekend of Oct. 14, 2023
Results of the first sessions:
5 participants attended the Swahili session, 16 attended the Somali session, and 4 attended the English session
City Manager Elaine Wang participated in the Swahili session and Mayor Kristine Lott participated in the Swahili and English sessions. Executive Director at Winooski Housing Authority, Deac Decarreau attended all three sessions
Multiple participants were able to get timely support related to their particular issues
Legal Services Vermont staff participated in the Somali session
All the partners agreed that the first sessions were critical to building trust and relationships between the participants and service providers
Initiative #2
Workshop Series for Mental Health and Housing Direct Service Providers
"A Trauma Awareness and Compassion Series for Healing the Collective"
CACH Objectives:
1) Support Mental Health and Housing direct service providers
Workshop Description:
Join us for a transformative journey in our "Healing the Collective" series, where you'll explore various aspects of trauma awareness, emotional well-being, and the power of compassion. This drop-in series consists of nine individual sessions, each designed to help you gain insight into the impact of trauma exposure response on yourself and others. You're welcome to join any session that fits your schedule.
Through a blend of information sharing, reflection, small group discussions, and embodied practices, you'll develop skills to mitigate the effects of collective trauma and promote healing.
Session Topics:
- Session 1: Emotional Awareness
- Session 2: Secondary Trauma Response Part I
- Session 3: Secondary Trauma Response Part II
Workshop Leader:
All sessions will be led by Rhiannon M. Kim (Owner, Love at the Roots, LLC). You can learn more about Rhiannon here: https://loveattheroots.com/.
WHERE: All sessions are in person at the Bobbin Mill Community Room - 235 Pine St., Burlington, VT 05401.
WHEN: We are splitting up the 9-session workshop into 3 "bundles" for registration. Please register for one or all of the first 3 sessions below.
WHO: This 9-session workshop is for Housing and Mental Health direct service providers who work in Chittenden County. Registration is limited to 30 providers. We understand the needs are vast and we’re considering supervisor/leadership specific trainings for future opportunities, however this training is being crafted for direct service providers/case management staff. Providers working outside of Chittenden County are welcome to register If there are still spots remaining one week before the workshop. Please contact Thomas Moore at thomas.moore@uvmheatlh.org if you would like to inquire about remaining spots or have any questions.
This workshop is being funded by the Chittenden Accountable Community for Health (CACH) and hosted by Burlington Housing Authority (BHA).
Initiative #3
Amplify the efforts of the Chittenden County Homeless Alliance (CCHA)
CACH Objectives:
1) Provide resources (monetary and team effort) to support the implementation of the CCHA Strategic Plan
Overview of Support:
Our team is eager to support the CCHA’s Strategic Plan implementation work. The CCHA Strategic Plan is set to be completed Fall 2023. Many of our Housing Team members also hold leadership roles within CCHA which will lead to enhanced collaboration, streamlined communication, alignment of objectives and more.
Stay tuned for more!