Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO) assistance in northwestern Vermont
The Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity, known locally as CVOEO, is the community action agency for northwestern Vermont, and it can help with heating fuel emergencies, groceries, back rent, weatherization, and more. Incorporated in 1965, it serves Chittenden, Franklin, and Grand Isle counties along with Addison County, except for the towns of Granville and Hancock, which fall under Capstone Community Action. This guide walks through, in plain-English, each CVOEO program, which office handles it, and what to have ready before you call.
CVOEO runs its basic-needs work through three community action offices in Burlington, Middlebury, and St. Albans. It operates separate programs for food, housing advocacy, weatherization, financial coaching, and domestic violence services. Some of its housing programs cover the entire state, while most direct assistance is limited to the four counties. This page covers this one organization only, and other charities in the area are covered on separate pages of this site.
Three community action offices and who each one serves
The Chittenden County office is at 255 South Champlain Street in Burlington, and the phone number is (802) 863-6248. The Addison County office is at 50 Industrial Avenue in Middlebury, reached at (802) 388-2285. Franklin and Grand Isle county residents use the office at 5 Lemnah Drive, Suite 5, in St. Albans, at (802) 527-7392.
Each office handles the same core services, which include help applying for 3SquaresVT food benefits, Farm to Family coupons for farmers market produce each summer. They may also offer heating fuel applications, housing financial assistance, and free tax preparation. CVOEO brought the three offices together as a single Community Action Network in 2022, so a resident in any of the four counties gets the same options. Call ahead rather than walking in, since several programs require documents and an appointment as the main website at https://www.cvoeo.org/ shows.
Crisis Fuel and other help with heating bills
Crisis Fuel is the emergency piece of Vermont's fuel assistance system, and CVOEO staff decide eligibility and arrange payment directly with the utility. The program may cover primary heating fuel and also electricity when power is needed to run a furnace or other heat source. A household can apply only with a current disconnection notice for a metered fuel such as electricity or natural gas, or when a bulk fuel tank is within about two weeks of running out.
Funding generally runs from late November through the middle of April, and help is limited to a set number of times per heating season. The program does not pay special delivery charges, so anyone heating with oil, kerosene, or propane should check the tank regularly and call before it runs dry. Homeowners with a broken or red-tagged furnace or fuel tank may apply for repair or replacement through the Emergency Heating System Repair component, which requires income documentation and proof of ownership.
The state-run Seasonal Fuel Assistance program is separate, and CVOEO offices help residents apply. Applications are accepted year-round, but a household must apply before the end of February to receive that season's benefit, which is usually issued once in late November. The WARMTH Support Program, funded by utility customer donations and administered by the community action agencies since 1986, may fill gaps when Seasonal and Crisis Fuel are not enough, with payments available from mid-October through April or until funds run out.
Details on the state program are on the Vermont fuel assistance and LIHEAP page. During the heating season CVOEO staffs an after-hours crisis line at 1-877-295-7998 for evenings and overnight, and a separate weekend and holiday emergency line at 1-866-331-7741. The CVOEO Crisis Fuel page at https://www.cvoeo.org/get-help/crisis-fuel lists the current application requirements.
Free weatherization for homeowners and renters
Champlain Valley Weatherization, a CVOEO program, provides no-cost energy improvements to income-eligible households. Renters can qualify when the program works out an agreement with the property owner. Services start with an energy audit and a heating system check-up for safety and efficiency, followed by construction work such as insulation and air sealing performed by a CVOEO crew. Free lighting and appliance upgrades may be added through a partnership with Efficiency Vermont.
Households already approved for fuel assistance often meet the income test for weatherization, so it is worth asking about both at the same time. The weatherization office is reached at (800) 545-1084 or [email protected].
Food shelves and 3SquaresVT help
Feeding Champlain Valley, which has served the region for more than fifty years and was formerly known as the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf, is CVOEO's food program. Its Burlington food shelf at 228 North Winooski Avenue, reached at (802) 658-7939, offers weekly groceries, grab-and-go food, and prepared meals. The program also even delivers meals to shelters and pantries across the area. Families who screen as food insecure may be able to order groceries through partner clinicians, teachers, and social workers under the program's Food Access Network.
Outside Chittenden County, NorthWest Family Foods operates at 5 Lemnah Drive in St. Albans, a Richford food shelf runs at 53 Main Street, and the Addison County Food Hub is at 616 Exchange Street, Suite 1, in Middlebury. Staff at every site can help with applications for 3SquaresVT, WIC, and other food programs. The Feeding Champlain Valley page lists each location.
Money for back rent and deposits, plus housing navigation
Through a state and federally funded Housing Opportunity Program grant and private donations, CVOEO's community action offices may help. There may be funds to pay back rent, a first month's rent, a security deposit, or a short-term rental subsidy for households that are homeless or at risk of homelessness under the federal definition. Applications are reviewed weekly by a group of partner agencies that checks both funding and eligibility, so a decision is not immediate. Applicants should expect to show how their housing will stay stable after the payment.
Housing navigators also work with people experiencing literal homelessness, offering advocacy, referrals, and help with forms, though they cannot search for apartments on a client's behalf. CVOEO states plainly that it does not provide emergency housing, and it directs anyone who needs shelter tonight to the state Economic Services Division at 1-800-479-6151 or to 2-1-1 after hours. In Chittenden County, ask about housing assistance at (802) 863-6248, extension 4, and read the financial assistance and housing navigation page at https://www.cvoeo.org/get-help/financial-assistance-and-housing-navigation first.
CVOEO also administers a rapid re-housing voucher for families experiencing homelessness, called the HOME Family Housing Voucher Program, in partnership with Vermont's Office of Economic Opportunity. Families should ask their local office whether the voucher is currently taking referrals.
Tenant, fair housing, and mobile home help statewide
Three CVOEO housing advocacy programs serve renters in every Vermont county, not just the four in the Champlain Valley. Vermont Tenants runs a hotline at (802) 864-0099 that answers questions about evictions, repairs, deposits, and rental law, and it teaches free renters' workshops. The Fair Housing Project helps people who believe they were denied housing or treated unfairly because of a protected characteristic.
The Mobile Home Program provides information and advocacy for people who live in mobile home parks, including questions about lot rent and park sales. None of these programs pays bills, but each can change the outcome of a housing dispute.
Financial coaching, matched savings, and free tax preparation
CVOEO's Financial Futures programs offer one-on-one financial coaching and classes on budgeting, saving, and credit. The Vermont Matched Savings program pairs a year of savings deposits with a match from CVOEO for residents of the four counties who complete the classes and work with a coach. A Micro Business Development Program counsels people who want to earn income through self-employment.
Free tax preparation through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program runs each year from February 1 through April 15 at the community action offices. Volunteers file income tax returns and also handle Vermont renter rebate and homestead property tax forms, which many low-income filers miss on their own.
Voices Against Violence in Franklin and Grand Isle counties
Voices Against Violence is CVOEO's program for victims and survivors of domestic violence, sexual violence, and stalking in Franklin and Grand Isle counties. Its 24-hour crisis line is (802) 524-6575, and staff provide crisis intervention, advocacy, legal services, supervised visitation through the All About Kids program, and emergency and transitional housing, including the Laurie's House shelter. The Voices Against Violence page at https://www.cvoeo.org/get-help/voices-against-violence has more on each service, and residents of other counties can ask CVOEO for the program that covers their area.
Shelters, Head Start, and other CVOEO programs
CVOEO operates a group of shelters and outreach services in Chittenden County, including the Champlain Place Emergency Shelter. They also have the Bridges Recovery Shelter for people in recovery from substance use, the Foundations Family Shelter, a seasonal Emergency Cold Weather Shelter, and a daytime Community Resource Center in Burlington. It also runs Samaritan House in St. Albans and coordinates Chittenden County's coordinated entry system for homeless services. Shelter beds are generally reached through coordinated entry and the state Economic Services Division rather than by walking in, so call first.
Champlain Valley Head Start, another CVOEO program, provides early childhood education and family services for eligible young children across the four counties. CVOEO's Office of Racial Equity and Community Inclusion offers translation and interpretation, and the agency's website can be read in more than twenty languages.
How to contact CVOEO
The main CVOEO office is at 255 South Champlain Street (P.O. Box 1603), Burlington, VT 05402, reached at (802) 862-2771 or toll-free at (800) 287-7971. For most assistance, call the community action office for your county directly: Burlington at (802) 863-6248, Middlebury at (802) 388-2285, or St. Albans at (802) 527-7392. The CVOEO Community Action Network page at https://www.cvoeo.org/community-action/ lists the current addresses and services for all three offices.
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