Brave Little State What happened to all the halfway houses in Vermont?
7 snips
Dec 4, 2025 
Carly Berlin, a housing reporter for Vermont Public and VT Digger, dives deep into Vermont's transitional housing landscape. She discusses the alarming decline of halfway houses and how this affects recently incarcerated individuals like Manny. Carly shares stories from the Dismas House, detailing its supportive environment while highlighting the challenges of strict sober-house policies. The conversation reflects on the state's shift to a Housing First model and the importance of offering diverse recovery options for those in need.
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1980s Burlington Spawned Halfway Houses
- Burlington in the 1980s saw rising rents, federal housing cuts, and the rise of group homes and halfway houses as a local response.
- Community pressure, business backlash, and creative funding produced a patchwork of recovery residences citywide.
State Funding Shift Shrunk Halfway Houses
- Vermont had about 30 transitional group homes in 2019 but more than a third closed by 2025 after funding and policy shifts.
- The Department of Corrections redirected money toward individual apartments, favoring Housing First over zero-tolerance sober houses.
How Dismas House Supported Reentry
- Ryan describes arriving at Burlington Dismas House after prison and finding structure and peer support that helped him stay sober.
- He credits chores, group dinners, volunteering, and staff help finding jobs as key stabilizers for reentry.