SPRINGFIELD, Vt. — Since January, when they opened, four newly renovated apartments in the Woolson Block devoted to young people between the ages of 18 and 24 have been full.
Even amid the hot housing market, two youths have so far graduated from these new units in downtown Springfield to living independently, marking the first successes of a new Youth in Transition program, which through a collaboration of several area organizations aims to help young people develop the skills they need to live on their own.
“Ultimately it’s about helping young adults … with any number of challenges succeed,” said George Karabakakis, CEO of Health Care and Rehabilitation Services, southeastern Vermont’s nonprofit community mental health agency that is among the organizations supporting these residents. “It’s really about connection and hope.”
The new units, which are part of a larger revitalization project in downtown Springfield, are owned by the Springfield Housing Authority. The Woolson Block was first built in 1868 by the president of a Springfield machine tool company and woolen mill, according to a news release from Evernorth, a nonprofit focused on affordable housing investments in northern New England. The three-story, Italianate-style brick building had fallen into disrepair in recent years.
In addition to the four apartments units designated for youth, there are 15 other apartments aimed at households earning 60% or less of the area’s median income, as well as more than 5,000 square feet of commercial space. The total price tag for the building’s redevelopment was $8.6 million, which came from a mix of public and private sources.
Marcus Aremburg, a 20-year-old Springfield High School graduate who now works as a cashier at Shaw’s, moved from his parents’ home in Chester, Vt., to one of the supported apartments in the Woolson Block earlier this year.
For $300 per month, the program has “kind of helped me get on my feet a little bit more,” Aremburg said.
He’s been able to reduce his reliance on his parents and he’s learning new things.
“I’ve learned that it’s not exactly easy keeping my room clean,” he said.
Each of the supported apartments has its own bathroom, while residents share living and common areas. The apartments give young adults, who may be exiting foster care or leaving home for the first time, space to learn to cook, do laundry and clean the house.
Supporting organizations, which in addition to HCRS include Windsor County Youth Services, Easter Seals and Springfield Supportive Housing, also help participants with budgeting, finding employment and continuing their education.
“These skills are often not taught explicitly,” said Matt Schibley, area manager for HCRS’s children, youth and families division.
A residential manager is on-site and available to provide guidance to the program participants, some of whom have just graduated from high school, said Schibley. They may have anxiety about living on their own, he said.
Being “able to work one on one with our residents (is) really helpful,” said Schibley. “They don’t feel so alone.”
The hope is that by providing this support during what can be a challenging transition period, the participants can avoid future interactions with law enforcement, trips to the emergency room or inpatient stays in psychiatric hospitals.
“Providing those supports in the community just makes such a difference,” Karabakakis said. “If we can break that cycle, I think we’ve done our job.”
These four units join support housing of various kinds that Upper Valley organizations have opened in recent years. The Clara Martin Center opened four units of permanent housing for individual adults who have been homeless and live with mental illness in Randolph in 2019. The 18-unit Parkhurst Community Housing in downtown Lebanon, which is owned by the White River Junction-based nonprofit Twin Pines Housing, opened in 2018 for people who were chronically homeless and had very low income. The Claremont Learning Partnership is poised to open Oasis, a 12-bed licensed, residential youth homeless shelter, in September.
“Housing is absolutely essential to health (and) to mental health,” Karabakakis said.
Residents are expected to stay in the Woolson Block units between nine months and a year before graduating to permanent housing, as well as full-time employment or enrollment in a full-time undergraduate program.
Aremburg, for his part, has recently begun sending out applications for permanent housing and he’s increased his hours at Shaw’s from 16 to 20 hours per week. He’s considering further schooling, but isn’t yet certain which career path is right for him.
One thing he’s sure about, however, is that this first step toward independent living was the right one.
“It’s amazing,” he said. “There isn’t anything I’d really want to change about it.”
Nora Doyle-Burr can be reached at ndoyleburr@vnews.com or 603-727-3213.
