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Housing advocates press for continued funding, outline needs and project pipeline
Summary
Housing and homelessness advocates told the Senate committee that homelessness has risen and Vermont needs thousands of affordable rental homes; presenters from the Housing & Homelessness Alliance and Champlain Housing Trust urged funding for voucher contingency, BHCB, down‑payment programs and a $40M one‑time investment tied to pipeline projects.
Representatives of statewide housing organizations presented needs assessments and funding priorities to the Senate Economic Development, Housing & General Affairs Committee.
Chad Simmons, of the Housing and Homelessness Alliance of Vermont (HHV), said homelessness has increased over the last five years and that many households face severe cost burdens. He framed the group’s priorities around three pillars: capital for housing development, rental assistance, and services. Simmons said the alliance supports continuing statutory funding and singled out several priorities: full funding for the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board (VHCB), a $40,000,000 one‑time investment to sustain pipeline work, and a $5,000,000 voucher contingency fund for the Vermont State Housing Authority to preserve voucher capacity.
Simmons described the composition of need: the HHV and VHFA analyses suggest thousands of rental homes are needed, with roughly 10,000–11,000 units affordable to under 80% AMI among an estimated 16,000 rental units needed for the target population. He emphasized investments that stabilize low‑income households and prevent emergency shelter spending.
Committee members pressed on program details and outcomes. A senator raised a concern about voucher protections for people detained by immigration authorities; Simmons said HHV will track the issue and work with partners to protect voucher holders.
Michael Monken, CEO of Champlain Housing Trust, described CHT’s local pipeline and operational scale: CHT manages more than 3,000 affordable units, has developed hundreds of units in recent years (including conversion of motels to permanent housing), planned projects across Burlington and Chittenden County, and supports policy goals to reduce development cost and speed permitting. He urged continued state funding to keep production at higher recent levels and noted the fragile reliance on federal credits and unpredictable federal funding as risks to ongoing projects.
What’s next: HHV and housing developers expect to pursue the funding requests in the coming budget cycle and offered to return with additional pro formas and project‑level leverage analyses at the committee’s request.
