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Safety Concerns Offender Re-Entry Housing Program
The Burlington Housing Authority’s Offender Re-Entry Housing Program (ORHP) is open to participants who are returning to, residing in, and under Vermont D.O.C supervision in Chittenden County.
ORHP is a Search and Retention program that assists incarcerated offenders upon their release from incarceration or transitional housing to secure and maintain sustainable and permanent housing. Community based offenders such as parolees, and or probationers, may also be referred to ORHP for Search and Retention assistance.
Offender Re-Entry Housing Program Eligibility Criteria:
- Participant must be returning to/and or living in Chittenden County, Vermont, and be under supervision with the Vermont Department of Corrections.
- Participant must have at least nine months left on their sentence in order to qualify for the program. Preference is given to applicants with at least one year of supervision.
- The program is open to applicants with major mental health problems, developmental disabilities, substance abuse issues, and other physical or mental disabilities. For an offender with any of the above disabilities, there must be a treatment team in place upon release of the offender.
- The offender must have an employment plan, be receiving SSI, or be eligible for a BHA subsidy, as this is an independent housing program.
- Upon being offered housing, participant must agree to meet regularly with the ORHS (Offender Re-Entry Housing Specialist) weekly, biweekly, or monthly as determined by the ORHS staff for up to one year for the purposes of housing retention and support.
Referral Protocol
All referrals for BHA’s ORHP are made by Department of Corrections Staff. If an offender’s PO/or facility caseworker determine that a potential participant requires housing search assistance or retention support from Burlington Housing Authority’s Offender Re-Entry Housing Program, they will review the ORHP description and eligibility criteria and generate a referral in DOC’s Offender Management System (OMS). Once completed, the referral will then be approved or denied by the district manager of Burlington Probation and Parole. If approved, ORHP is notified of the referral via OMS and an initial application screening meeting is set up.
For more information about this program, please contact Peyton Obering, at
pobering@burlingtonhousing.org, or (802) 557-7269.
