This July, CVOEO celebrates the community connections we’ve built over the past year, from our newest colleagues at Samaritan House in St. Albans and those they serve, to the partnerships with local and statewide organizations that have helped our Housing Advocacy Programs staff reach hundreds of people across the Champlain Valley and beyond. Together, with our shared efforts to take care of our neighbors in need, we deepen our Vermont roots and further our commitment to each other and justice for all.

This month, we invite you to join us and celebrate the strength and vitality of our community.

Samaritan House

Celebrating one year as a CVOEO program

July marks the one-year anniversary of CVOEO assuming operations of Samaritan House in St. Albans. As a program of CVOEO, the shelter has been sustained as a community asset and critical resource for our neighbors in need.

Samaritan House Program Director, Ben Kaufmann, shares, "our work supporting those in need in our community continues to be strengthened by this partnership."

If you or someone you care about is in need of emergency shelter or housing support, or if you would like to learn more about Samaritan House, please call 802-527-0847 or click the button below.

Farm to Family Coupons

Now available

On July 1, the Vermont Farm to Family Program application opened and coupon books became available to help eligible Vermonters buy locally-grown fresh fruits and vegetables at participating farmers markets and farm stands.

Coupon books are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis and the application process considers income eligibility or Department of Health’s WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) Program participation. Approved individuals under the age of 60 receive $30 in coupons, and individuals ages 60 and over receive $48 in coupons.

Call your local CVOEO Community Action Network office for more information:

- Addison Community Action | 802-388-2285

- Chittenden Community Action| 802-863-6248

- Franklin and Grand Isle Community Action | 802-527-7392

Program Highlight

Housing Advocacy Programs

With the Vermont housing world in crisis, our most vulnerable neighbors and their families are feeling the pinch of high costs, low availability, and poor conditions. 

In the face of these challenges, CVOEO’s statewide Housing Advocacy Programs (HAP) team strives every day to support all Vermonters, and especially renters, mobile home residents, and people experiencing housing discrimination. HAP staff help build individual and community knowledge, confidence, and agency in rental housing and mobile home law, fair housing protections, strategies for finding and maintaining rental housing, and community engagement. 

In the past year, with the support of local and statewide partners, the HAP team:

• assisted 848 individuals with information, referrals, and navigation of emergency habitability situations through the Vermont Tenants hotline

• guided 347 people through Tenant Skills and Finding Housing classes

• supported 272 households (338 adults and 317 children) in finding homes through the HAP CARES Housing Voucher Program

• served 220 mobile home households via the Hotline and connected 68 mobile home communities to information and resources

• provided 163 housing and service providers and municipal officials with essential training in fair housing rights and responsibilities 

We have accomplished so much over the past year, and yet there are still too many people who don’t have access to safe, accessible, and stable homes. Housing is a basic human right and everyone deserves equitable access to securing and maintaining a home, free from discrimination.

Together, we can make a difference. Join us today to sustain and grow our programs, and to ensure that all Vermonters have a place to call home.

Meet the Board

Nakuma Palczewski

As part of our ongoing effort to highlight members of CVOEO's Board of Directors, we are pleased to introduce Nakuma Palczewski, one of CVOEO's newest Board members and a representative from Franklin & Grand Isle Counties. 

"Our CVOEO community is best known for lifting each other up and assisting in any way we can. Every person we help strengthens our community and allows us to achieve great things, together."

Careers at CVOEO

Strengthen our team

Join one of the VermontBiz and Vermont Chamber of Commerce's top 57 Best Places to Work in Vermont 2023, and help make a difference in our community.

At CVOEO, our caring and dedicated staff is the heart and soul of our organization, and we want you to join us.