VERGENNES — On Friday, Sept. 18, Addison Housing Works (AHW) hosted its fifth Neighborhood Block Party at American Legion Post #14 in Vergennes. From 4 to 7 p.m., the event offered live music, food and drink, a silent auction and, most importantly, community building. With sponsorships from multiple local businesses, the Neighborhood Block Party set a $50,000 fundraising goal to support AHW.
AHW is Addison County’s major provider of affordable housing. Stewarding over 700 affordable housing units, the organization is responsible for roughly 1 in every 19 households in the county, representing a significant portion of the Vermont community.
The purpose of the Neighborhood Block Party is twofold: to collect donations and to bring awareness to AHW’s mission and decrease the stigma that still surrounds affordable housing.
Kara Bradford, the engagement manager at AHW, explained in an interview with The Campus that raising awareness about affordable housing is as much a goal of the Neighborhood Block Party as fundraising itself.
“Monetary donations are fundamental to our work, but reducing stigma has an invaluable impact,” Bradford said.
There is often unconscious bias that surrounds affordable housing; many remain hesitant to embrace affordable or mixed-income housing developments in their neighborhoods. Fears about property values, traffic, or “who might move in” tend to surface quickly.
According to Bradford, “accessible housing lowers crime rates and supports local business,” which in turn attracts further investment and development.
Quoting former President John F. Kennedy, a champion for affordable housing, Bradford put it plainly: “A rising tide lifts all boats.”
In Vermont, there is a particularly intense demand for affordable housing. One reason is that Vermonters earning $20-25 per hour may still qualify as low income under state and federal guidelines. Even workers in relatively well-paying jobs may struggle to afford housing in Addison County, where the high-demand housing market has caused prices to far outpace income. In Bristol, AHW manages workforce housing with residents earning up to $100,000 per year.
The effects of high housing costs extend far beyond individual renters. Bradford noted that around 60% of employees from the county’s largest employers, Middlebury College and Porter Medical Center, live across the state border in New York and commute to Vermont each day. Nurses, dining hall staff, facilities and administrators cross Lake Champlain twice a day, in part because rising housing costs have driven them to live further away from the communities they serve.
“Consider how this drain on employees' time and money impacts you and the community that you live in,” Bradford appealed.
This burden to local communities is precisely why AHW exists and works to bring more affordable housing to Addison County, where it continues to pursue fundraising, volunteer recruitment and develop new housing opportunities. They are always eager to work with volunteers, especially those from Middlebury College.
The connection goes beyond geography. The executive director of AHW, Elise Shanbacker ’07, is herself a graduate of Middlebury College. While studying sociology, Shanbacker fell in love with the state, and through a $15,000 new home owner grant from the National Bank of Middlebury, she was able to stay in the Green Mountain State and build her life here. Her path to homeownership through public resources is a case study for the success of AHW’s method.
As AHW’s motto puts it, “It all starts with a home.”
The Neighborhood Block Party rotates each year between AHW's three major centers Bristol, Middlebury and Vergennes to give each community a turn hosting the conversation, and the fundraising, in its own backyard. The event demonstrates the genuine community that surrounds AHW rather than a formal appeal for donations: neighbors catching up over food, and a band playing to a lively crowd. For AHW, that sense of community is as much a part of the mission as the funds raised.
