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Providers press for more non‑congregate, specialized shelter and integrated state system for people with complex needs
Summary
CVOEO and other providers told lawmakers Vermont’s shelter system lacks specialized low‑barrier and medical/behavioral health capacity for aging and disabled unhoused Vermonters, and urged the state to build an integrated system of care and expand non‑congregate shelter models.
Paul Dragon, executive director of the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO), told the House Human Services Committee that shelters increasingly serve aging and disabled people who need a higher level of medical and behavioral-health care than many shelter sites can provide.
Dragon said CVOEO’s community resource center in Burlington saw 3,300 unique individuals last year, averaging about 135 people a day, and that 48% of those clients have a documented disability; 24% were age 55 or older and 14% were age 65 or older. “We are seeing a growing number of people…
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