Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Affordable Housing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Parent group urges lawmakers to consider state properties for supported housing for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities
Summary
A parent representative told the Senate Institutions Committee that state‑owned buildings could be repurposed to create supported residential units for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, citing a 2023 need estimate of more than 600 people and recent Act 186 grant work.
A parent representative asked the Senate Committee on Institutions on May 13 to consider targeted reuse of underused state properties to create permanent supported housing for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Ellen Riley, who identified herself as a member of the Vermont Developmental Disabilities Housing Initiative and a parent representative on a 2023 Act 186 grant, described a long‑standing shortage of housing for Vermonters with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). She said recent work funded by an Act 186 grant produced two housing models and that, in 2023, more than 600 individuals with IDD in Vermont were identified as being in immediate need of housing.
“Who will care for him…when I can no longer provide them,” Riley said, describing the concern that motivates many families. She outlined one housing approach discussed in the grant work: a model with individual efficiency apartments for residents plus shared communal space — a kitchen, dining room, recreation room, laundry and an office for program staff — so that residents have private living quarters and shared supports on site.
Riley told the committee that properties in the Capital Complex could be candidates because parking needs would be low for residents who do not drive and because the downtown location offers access to potential jobs, services and shopping. She urged committee members and state staff to “think outside of the box” as they consider surplus or underused state assets.
Committee members and staff did not take formal action on the concept during the meeting. Staff and other speakers noted, however, that decisions about repurposing state buildings and how to dispose of them are part of BGS’s responsibilities and would come to the legislature through the capital bill or other formal proposals. The parent representative requested continued engagement as state agencies and developers refine options for housing for people with IDD.
