The State of Vermont's Department of Housing and Community Development and the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board (VHCB) will be holding a virtual public hearing to get input from Vermont residents on the proposed uses of a new funding source available to address homelessness. The State will receive $9,564,691 of HOME-ARP funding from the American Rescue Plan Act. In order to access these funds, the State is required to prepare an Allocation Plan that indicates how Vermont intends to use the funds. A draft State of Vermont HOME-ARP Allocation Plan has been prepared and is now available for review and public comment at https://vhcb.org/home-arp-funding.
The purpose of the hearing is to listen to residents' views about how to best use this resource to address the State's homelessness problem, which has worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. On September 13, 2021 HUD issued Notice CPD-21-10 describing eligible activities and the requirements applicable to a participating jurisdiction's (PJ's) use of the HOME-ARP funds to assist qualifying populations, generally those experiencing homelessness or at-risk of homelessness. This Notice can be found at the link above.
Written comments on Vermont's draft HOME-ARP Allocation Plan will be accepted until Friday, January 14, 2022 at 5:30 PM. Comments should be submitted via email to [email protected] or mailed to the address below.
The virtual hearing will be held on Tuesday, January 4, 2022 from 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM via video conference. A link will be available on the web site above. No pre-registration will be required, although commenters will be asked to identify themselves. For those unable to attend the hearing by teleconference, physical space will be available at 58 East State Street in Montpelier, VT for persons to participate in the meeting. Anyone wishing to attend this meeting in person must contact Ron Rupp ([email protected] / (802) 828-2912) prior to the meeting to receive instructions about what entrance to use and the COVID-19 restrictions that will be in place.
Accommodations for persons with disabilities and interpreters to meet the needs of non-English speaking persons will be made available upon request. Requests for accommodations should be directed to Ron Rupp at (802) 828-2912, or in writing to Ron Rupp, Director of Federal Housing Programs, Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, 58 East State Street, Montpelier, VT 05602 ([email protected]) by December 21, 2021 at 5:00 PM. For the hearing impaired please call (TTY#) 1-800-253-0191.