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VYT Voices
Fall 2011 Edition
Regan Wedenoja AmeriCorps VISTA Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition &
VT Commission to end Homelessness Burlington, VT It is hard to believe that I have been living and serving in Vermont for two months now. If someone had asked me this time last year if I would be living in Vermont I would have given them a very strange look. Entering into my senior year of college last year at Miami University in Ohio, I struggled with the common conundrum of, ―what do I do next?‖ At first I was under the assumption that more school would be the only way to go; that seemed like the easy and safe route. I was already on track to apply to law schools and just stay a student for another three years. It took conversations with friends, family, and mentors to see that I wanted an adventure; I wanted to use my skills in what was scarily referred to as the ―real world.‖ A professor of mine would always end a lecture or a meeting with, ―what will you do when you get to the world of action?‖ Action … a concept that, if I went straight to law school, I would be delaying another three years. I toyed with jobs in the private and public sector before I realized that a year off would be the ideal time to experience the environment of non-profits. This is when my older sister, an AmeriCorps City Year alumna, reminded me that I could take my ―action‖ into an AmeriCorps position and the VISTA program seamed ideal. After choosing to explore an Adventure in Vermont, far away from the safety of the Midwest, I fell onto the Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition (VAHC) and the Vermont Coalition to End Homelessness (VCEH). These two organizations that focused on housing, an outlet that I planned to explore in law school, seemed to be a perfect fit. The VAHC is a non-profit coalition made up of affordable housing providers from around the state and is run by a Steering Committee consisting of members from the Burlington Housing Authority, COTS, the Vermont Center for Independent Living, Champlain Housing Trust,
Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity, the Samaritan House, and the Addison County Community Trust. VAHC is working towards providing affordable housing (less than 30% of income spent on housing/ utilities) for all that need it. In addition to the VAHC, I also serve for the VCEH. The VCEH is a coalition in Vermont that is dedicated to homeless services. This coalition consists of many homeless service providers and is in support of the Continuum of Care. Both coalitions work together for a common goal of fair housing; they simply tackle the concept from different sides. I am serving as the Joint Communications and Outreach Director for both coalitions and will be working on separate events such as creating an educational exhibit on homelessness in Vermont to be showcased this January. I hope that throughout this year I will be able to help both coalitions begin to merge their resources and ideas together which has been a thought for both coalitions for a while. I am excited to continue this year as the A*VISTA for both organizations and am happy to say that after only two months I am beginning to become well versed on housing and homelessness in Vermont.