Safe Shelter + On-Site Services at Downstreet’s Speranza Inn
Every person deserves a safe, stable place to call home.
For nearly four decades, Downstreet has been committed to making that vision a reality by providing a wide range of affordable housing options in Central Vermont—along with the essential support services that help individuals and families maintain stability, meet basic needs, and build toward a better future.
In April 2025, Downstreet purchased a hotel in South Barre to preserve it as a vital emergency housing resource for Central Vermont. Now called the Speranza Inn (Speranza means hope in Italian), this building is a 42-room homeless services hotel where people in crisis can find stability, 24/7 support, and a pathway forward.
Why the Speranza Inn?
We took this step in response to a stark reality: there are simply not enough homes in our region to house everyone in crisis. And while our core mission is to develop and steward permanently affordable housing, we recognize that ending homelessness requires both long-term solutions and responsive, short-term interventions. Research shows that supportive housing—housing plus services—dramatically improves long-term stability, health outcomes, and quality of life for people experiencing homelessness.
The Speranza Inn offers both stability and support, bridging that gap with shelter and wraparound support like case management, mental health care, and employment navigation.
By acquiring the Speranza Inn, Downstreet ensures this vital community resource remains in mission-driven hands—protected from speculative market forces and managed with compassion and accountability. As a trusted affordable housing provider, we are uniquely positioned to operate this service-integrated hotel as a stable, high-quality site within the regional housing and homelessness response system.
- 24/7 on-site staff
- Case management, mental health, and substance use support
- Employment and housing navigation
- A community kitchen and food pantry
- An emergency needs fund for essentials like hygiene supplies, winter clothing, and transportation
By combining safe housing with wraparound supports, guests can stabilize, recover, and move toward permanent housing.
Why Are We Raising $300,000?
We’re in the midst of a $4 million rehabilitation to bring the building up to modern health and safety standards and ensure it remains a safe, dignified space for years to come. At the same time, we’re investing in the systems and services that make the difference between temporary shelter and real stability—things like trauma-informed care, crisis support, a community kitchen, and the staffing it takes to hold it all together.
Thanks to public funding and early donor support, we’ve made real progress, but we need help raising funds to finish the work. We’re asking for your support to help us raise the remaining $300,000 needed to bring the Speranza Inn to the finish line. Every gift, large or small, helps keep doors open and hope alive.
Hope is a community effort. Join us.
Your donation today will help us raise the $300,000 needed to finish this project and sustain these life-changing services.
