Press Release

Welch Celebrates Ribbon Cutting for COTS Main Street Family Shelter Housing Project

Jul 29, 2024

Welch Helped Deliver Funding for the Project Through Congressional Appropriations

BURLINGTON, VT – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) today visited the COTS Main Street Family Shelter and toured the recently-completed 16 unit, permanently affordable housing addition made to the existing shelter. Senator Welch secured $825,000 through the Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) process in 2023 to help support the project. 

“I am so pleased to see COTS’ Main Street Family Shelter is helping support families and children in-need, with pathways to permanent housing. It’s a great example of what the Congressionally Directed Spending program does best—re-invest in the community to support those who need it most,” said Senator Welch. “This combination of shelter and housing is a model that can, and should, be replicated across the country, and that can lead to real progress on helping more families exiting homelessness access affordable housing.”  

View photos from the event below: 

Attendees cut the ribbon of the new affordable housing at the COTS Main Street Family Shelter in Burlington, VT on July 29, 2024
Sen. Welch speaks at the COTS Main Street Family Shelter ribbon cutting on July 29, 2024

As of 2023, Vermont has the second-highest rate of homelessness in the country, a crisis exacerbated by housing shortages across the state. This new housing project works to provide pathways to permanent housing for families exiting homelessness by creating created 16 new units of permanently affordable housing. The new housing created in this project is an addition to the existing Main Street Family Shelter, which is an emergency shelter for households with children under the age of 18 providing shelter for up to ten families at a time.  

Sen. Welch was joined by Jonathan Farrell, Executive Director, COTS; Nancy Owens, President, Evernorth; Al Flory, EVP & Chief Lending Officer, Northfield Saving Bank; Megan Roush, Director of Development, Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA); and Pollaidh Major, Director of Policy and Special Projects, Vermont Housing & Conservation Board (VHCB). 

This year, Senator Welch secured $42.34 million in federal investments to support 19 projects that will improve local infrastructure and accessibility, bolster economic revitalization, preserve community landmarks, and build more affordable housing in Vermont. Project recipients were nominated by Senator Welch through the Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) process.   

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