Foundation House
Women in Recovery
Get a Chance to Start Over
Together with Vermont Foundation for Recovery (VFOR), we redeveloped a historic Barre City building to provide a three-story communal apartment and two individual apartments where women in recovery can continue their recovery journey alongside their children in a sober, stable, and supportive home.
The path to completion was not without its challenges, as we faced large budget gaps due to pandemic-driven rises in cost for labor and materials. With widespread community support, Foundation House is now complete and ready to welcome women in recovery to continue their healing journey without being separated from their children.
In early December, local leaders, community members, and housing partners joined together to celebrate the completion of this important project. The grand opening event was well-attended and included remarks from key project partners as well as tours of the newly completed home for women and children.
“Foundation House is only possible because a community came together to meet the needs of mothers in recovery,” said Downstreet’s Board President Kevin Ellis. “When there was a gap in funding, project funders pitched in a little more, and 292 donors, including foundations, local businesses, and individuals from Vermont and across the country came together to meet the need.”
The historic details of the building were restored, including a refurbished pocket door discovered during the demolition stage of the project, beautiful wooden built-ins enclosed with glass-paneled doors, and beautifully refreshed stair newel posts.
Vermont Foundation of Recovery is operating the home, which provides flexible living arrangements for up to six families of women in recovery and their dependent children with a communal apartment and two individual apartments.
DEVELOPMENT TEAM
Scope of the Project
- Reconfiguration to create two standalone residential apartments and one communal living apartment for a total of ten bedrooms and a community space
- Historic Preservation
- Weatherization and energy efficiency upgrades
Funding Partners
Vermont Community Development Program Community Development Block Grant through the City of Barre, Recovery Housing Program Grant, Vermont Housing Improvement Program, Vermont Housing & Conservation Board, Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston, NeighborWorks America, 3E Thermal, and charitable contributions from 292 donors.
Downstreet Staff
Project Manager, Kaziah Haviland
Director of Real Estate Development, Nicola Anderson
Development Assistant, Nathan Davidson
Architect
Scott + Partners
Project Architects:
Joel Page, Jess Gasek, Austin Shaw
Construction Managers
Naylor & Breen Builders
Project Manager: Scott Durkee
Site Superintendent: Dave Eastman
PROJECT FUNDING
Vermont Community Development Program
Community Development Block Grant through the City of Barre
Recovery Housing Program Grant
Vermont Housing Improvement Program
Vermont Housing & Conservation Board
Housing Bond, Trust Fund, American Rescue Plan Act
Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston
Affordable Housing Program Grant
NeighborWorks America
3E Thermal Energy Incentives
Charitable Contributions
From 292 donors, ranging from $5 to $150,000
TOTAL
$ 1,090,000
$ 925,322
$ 273,500
$ 125,000
$ 31,127
$ 407,809
$ 2,852,788
A story in Research
Access to a safe, affordable home is something that everyone should have. Still, specific housing needs vary from person to person and household to household. Over the years, we have leveraged our partnerships to develop homes that meet the unique needs of those who are particularly underserved.
One such group was identified in a 2019 report entitled “Housing: A Critical Link to Recovery.” The findings showed that women in recovery from substance use disorder, especially those with dependent children, had no housing options in Central Vermont, despite making up nearly half of those in Vermont coming out of treatment each year. The full report can be found here.
The numbers
Women make up almost half of those in recovery from substance use disorder, yet less than a quarter of recovery residence beds in Vermont are reserved for women. Foundation House exists to help address this disparity, by providing a stable, sober, and supportive place for women to continue their recovery journey without being separated from their children.
According to a study released in 2019, Vermont had three times as many recovery residence beds reserved for men compared to those for women.
- Beds reserved for women
- Beds reserved for men
Approximate # of Vermonters with substance use disorder
%
those in treatment who are extremely low-income
Additional Recovery Residence beds needed in Vt
All information was taken from the 2019 report “Housing: A Critical Link to Recovery.”