Chittenden County has a critical shortage of housing, particularly housing that is affordable to those earning below the Area Median Income. This housing shortage puts a greater burden on marginalized communities by allowing landlords to be more selective in how they rent to tenants and allowing for more discrimination. This recent VPR investigation digs deeper into some of the ways housing segregation continues to persist in communities across New England – including Vermont- and how that impacts the lives of those affected.

The “Building Homes Together” campaign was started in 2016 to encourage the production of more housing. Its annual report shows that market-rate housing production has been steady for the past four years, but Chittenden County has repeatedly failed to meet the campaign’s target for new permanently affordable homes, leaving a gap for those who are already struggling to make ends meet and those who have been impacted by the economic hardships of the coronavirus crisis.

The campaign, supported by over a hundred local and state officials, nonprofits, businesses, and individuals, set a five year goal of 3,500 new homes in Chittenden County with 20% of them permanently affordable. This amounts to an annual target of 700 overall homes with 140 affordable; the average over the first four years is 787 homes, but of those homes only 112 were affordable.

“We did see a spike in 2019 of new affordable homes with 169 built, but that followed three years of missing our target,” said Nancy Owens, co-President of Evernorth. “The increase in 2019 demonstrates that new capital from the Housing for All Revenue Bond passed in the State of Vermont in 2017 was essential to meet this critical housing need, but it hasn’t been enough.”

Other economic, social and public health factors are in play. “While 2020 has been consumed by the coronavirus and calls for racial justice, it’s also been a year where safe, decent and affordable housing has been even more obviously lacking in our communities. We need to do better,” said Brenda Torpy, CEO of the Champlain Housing Trust, noting that at one point this summer there were 2,000 homeless Vermonters living in hotels and motels

Champlain Housing Trust, Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission and Evernorth (formerly Housing Vermont) are jointly calling for local, state and federal policymakers to fund affordable housing and make housing a priority in responding to the economic, racial and health injustices of our current time.

More information about the “Building Home Together Campaign” can be found at http://www.ecosproject.com/building-homes-together/.