DELTA DENTAL PLAN OF VERMONT MAKES $60,000 GRANT TO REDUCE HOMELESSNESS

The Chittenden County Homeless Alliance announced today a $60,000 grant from Delta Dental Plan of Vermont awarded to fund a collective impact approach towards making homelessness in Chittenden County both rare and brief. The award will help expand and coordinate the involvement of government, business, philanthropy, non-profit organizations and citizens through the hiring of backbone support. This support will better organize local efforts around homelessness, to reinforce successful strategies and to ensure that success is measured consistently through systems of reliable shared data.

“It is important to make sure residents of Chittenden County have access to basic human needs like nourishment and reliable shelter.  Taking these worries away will establish a platform to help them achieve their best oral and overall health.  We are proud to partner with the Chittenden County Homeless Alliance to collectively tackle the complex issues that lead people to experience homelessness,” said Tom Raffio, President & CEO of Delta Dental Plan of Vermont.
The efforts underway have shown initial success with a local reduction in homelessness by 30% last year. Still, over 300 people are homeless on any given night in Chittenden County.
“The support of Delta Dental Plan of Vermont gives us the capacity to move our work forward,” said Margaret Bozik, Co-Chair of the Chittenden County Homeless Alliance, and Director of Asset Management & Special Initiatives at the Champlain Housing Trust. “Homelessness has a devastating impact on health and child well-being, as well as creating potentially unnecessary cost burdens on public systems. Because of this grant we believe we can make a significant difference in improving housing stability, reduce the number of people experiencing homelessness and quickly rehouse those who do lose their homes.”
The Chittenden County Homeless Alliance is a community coalition that collaborates to share information about the current and emerging causes of homelessness, to identify solutions and barriers to progress, and to develop and advocate for policies that further our vision of a safe, decent, affordable, stable home for every person and family in Chittenden County.
Delta Dental Plan of Vermont is one of three Delta Dental Plans doing business jointly as Northeast Delta Dental.  Northeast Delta Dental administers dental benefits to more than 832,000 people throughout Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, including organizations of all sizes, and individuals and families, with no access to employer-sponsored dental benefits.  Learn more about Northeast Delta Dental at nedelta.com.