Brattleboro’s Seasonal Overflow Shelter Opens

Brattleboro’s Seasonal Overflow Shelter opened, Monday November 13th

For an interview, please contact:
Josh Davis, Executive Director
Groundworks Collaborative
jdavis@GroundworksVT.org | 802.490.2951

BRATTLEBORO, VT – Brattleboro’s Seasonal Overflow Shelter will open Monday, November 13th. The program, which for the past 10 years has run from the First Baptist Church on Main Street, will operate this season from the upper dormitory on the Winston Prouty campus (formerly the Austine School for the Deaf).

Anyone seeking shelter will have to register for a bed through Groundworks Drop-In Center (at 60 South Main Street) between 9am and noon. Access to the shelter will only be permitted through transportation provided by Groundworks. The shuttle will leave by 5:45pm from the Drop-In Center, and all guests of the shelter will be transported back to the Drop-In Center at by 7am. There will be no access to the shelter during the day, and walking up to the shelter will not be permitted.

The Seasonal Overflow Shelter is a community-wide effort, operated by Groundworks Collaborative, with support from Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, the Brattleboro Retreat, HCRS, Winston Prouty, local faith communities, the Brattleboro Police Department, scores of volunteer meal teams, and generous funders.

“This program is the area’s last safety net for the most vulnerable members of our community,” says Josh Davis, Groundworks Collaborative’s Executive Director.

The primary goal of the shelter, which serves adults only, is to provide easily accessible shelter to prevent the possibility that someone could freeze to death. Capacity has increased this winter from 20 to 33 beds.

Another change for the shelter this year is the provision of paid staff to supervise the program. Groundworks has hired for 9 new positions specifically for the program, and will provide two staff per shift, and two shifts per night throughout the season.

Those interested in organizing a meal team to serve a prepared meal at the shelter this winter should email meals@GroundworksVT.org for more information and to sign up.

Groundworks Collaborative is the agency created by the merger of the Brattleboro Area Drop-In Center and Morningside Shelter. The organization continues to operate the region’s largest and busiest food shelf, a 30-bed shelter for families and individuals, the Seasonal Overflow Shelter and Day Shelter, while providing housing case management, and a Representative Payee service. To learn more about Groundworks, visit: GroundworksVT.org