BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – A new warming shelter in Burlington will now open on Jan. 15.
The Committee on Temporary Shelter originally hoped to open the shelter in the old Social Security building on Pearl Street last month, but federal red tape delayed the hand-over of the deed.
COTS officials say the building is in great shape. They will take ownership next week and immediately start outfitting it for people in need.
“Fifty-eight Pearl Street will be for single individuals. We’re looking at 30 beds and then we’ll see how it goes. We’ll see if we can do a little more once we get it up and running, but 30 is a pretty, pretty good size number both for the space in terms of managing a shelter at that level,” said Jonathan Farrell of COTS.
Farrell says COTS’ daytime shelter has seen a three-fold increase in visitors compared to past years.