Posted: 05/03/06

Hiking for the homeless
The Committee for Temporary Shelter is hosting its 17th annual fundraising walk

Mark Gould | contributing writer
mgould@smcvt.edu

The Committee on Temporary Shelter (COTS) will host its 17th annual walk on May 7. The walk will raise money to provide shelter and services for Vermont’s homeless.

The three mile walk begins in Battery Park in Burlington, and winds through the downtown area. The organization, which goes far beyond providing shelter, helps hundreds of Vermonters transition from life on the streets into permanent housing.

Walk the walk

According to Sally Ballin, community service coordinator for COTS, the walk is the biggest fundraising event for the COTS organization. Ballin says the walk is valuable because it shows Vermonters what COTS does.

“It’s absolutely the best educational tool because it’s the one day of the year where we open the doors of all the shelters and invite people to come in and look around,” Ballin says. “[They can] meet the staff, and see where the pledges they’ve raised are put to work.”

Last year, more than 1,500 people attended the COTS walk, raising $166,000. This year, Ballin says the goal is $180,000. The money will go towards existing COTS programs. Ballin says the money raised is traditionally used in the COTS operating budget.

Also benefiting from the COTS walk will be the prevention fund, the organization’s newest initiative. COTS will make a grant towards individuals who are in danger of losing their housing because of emergency financial setbacks, Ballin says.

“The biggest impact of the walk is actually seeing what shelter life is like,” Ballin says. “Imagine living with your whole family in one room, what that might be like.”

What is COTS?

According to their Web site, COTS advocates for long-term solutions to end homelessness.

The organization began in 1982 when several community members united to address the needs of Burlington’s growing homeless population.

The group of volunteers, now known as the Committee on Temporary Shelter, decided to help the homeless prepare for the winter. So on Christmas Eve, 1982, the COTS Waystation Project opened its doors, serving as an overnight shelter for the homeless.

The next year, COTS expanded to a year-round organization, offering counseling for the homeless and marginally housed.

COTS transformed an abandoned firehouse on North Champlain Street into the Firehouse Family Shelter. The shelter now serves up to five families at one time, providing resources to help them locate permanent housing.

COTS has opened four shelters, most recently opening 278 Main Street in 2002, a shelter large enough to house ten families. The site was created to address the growing needs for family-oriented shelters. The 278 Main Street location boasts on-site career counseling and housing referrals.

Get M.O.V.E.’n!

The St. Michael’s College community has worked side by side with COTS for many years. Heidi St. Peter, director of M.O.V.E. says the relationship between COTS and St. Michael’s has always been very good.

“For the past four or five years there’s been a COTS theme house on campus who works with COTS to help with the walk,” St. Peter says.

St. Peter adds that so far, several students have expressed interest in the walk, and everyone is welcome to participate.

St. Peter says while there is no official fundraising goal, more than $1,000 is a reasonable target.

“It’s a great group activity,” St. Peter says. “If you can only raise $25, that’s still great, because its $25 more than what they would have. It’s a really good cause, and easy to raise money for.”

Temporary Relief, a M.O.V.E. program, performs bi-monthly trips to the Salvation Army and St. John’s Hall, a residence for those between homes. Members of Temporary Relief journey to the COTS affiliated St. John’s Hall where they cook and serve food.

Junior Kate Schnurr is the director of Temporary Relief on campus. Schnurr says she has been going to St. John’s Hall since she was a first-year student, and has built up several relationships with some of the regulars.

“Me and another friend are going to go get coffee with one of the guys from St. John’s after school gets out,” Schnurr says. “I’ll see him downtown and we always end up chatting for a bit.”

Ballin says the generous response from the St. Michael’s community has not gone unnoticed.

“We appreciate the endearing commitment of St. Michael’s in supporting this event,” she says. “It not only provides a walk team, but also volunteers to work at the event. We really value our partnership with the college.”