Emergency Shelter
If You Are Currently Without a Home
Our emergency shelter programs provide opportunities for individuals without housing to have a safe, secure place to stay and have their basic needs met. This includes access to showers, laundry facilities, computer access for job searches, applications, and lunch service. We have emergency shelters for both families and individuals that are open 365 days a year.
Shelter for Single Adults
The following emergency shelters are open to unhoused individuals 18 or older.
Daystation
The Daystation is our daytime center for unhoused adults. It is a safe and warm refuge from the streets, connecting people with services, resources, and housing. Hot lunch is served daily, and community partners come here to meet with guests and provide services.
Visitors can attend workshops on job readiness, receive mail and messages, do laundry, shower, use the computers, chat on the couches, grow the garden, and sit on the patio, among many other daily-living things. Community partners from Burlington Health Clinic, Turning Point, Burlington Arts, and others help to provide additional services during the day.
Guests are also connected with housing navigators to identify their needs, set goals, and access additional services with COTS and community partners. The Daystation is open 365 days a year and typically serves 50+ people a day.
Physical Address: 95 North Ave, Burlington, VT
Hours: 9:00am - 5:00pm
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Services include:
Waystation
The Waystation is COTS’ emergency overnight shelter for single adults. This newly designed and renovated (as of 2025) building provides a safe space and welcoming space. Guests in the Waystation are connected with case workers who help them achieve goals for housing, saving, and employment.
- Open 365 days per year
- Staffed from evening to morning
- Semi-private rooms
- ADA accessible
- Dining and kitchen space
Physical Address: 58 Pearl St, Burlington, VT
Hours: 6:00pm - 8:00am
Services include:
Shelter for Families
COTS Family Shelter & Children’s Program serves homeless families with children under age 18. Our two family shelter facilities are open around the clock and can together accommodate up to 15 families. Guests can stay for up to six months while they get stabilized.
Through this program, COTS provides emergency shelter, housing navigation services and customized support for children to ensure their healthy, social, emotional, and intellectual development. This includes on-site support from our Children’s Education Advocate and our Children’s Mental Health Liaison.
Children’s education programming includes school readiness, IEP support, after-school activities, summer camp scholarships, and assistance with connecting to a child’s school. Children’s mental health programming includes therapeutic playgroups, parenting support groups, child-friendly yoga, and creative arts.
The program is designed to help homeless families achieve self-sufficiency and stable, permanent housing. It also helps them to avoid repeated episodes of homelessness.
Services include:
Main Street Family Shelter
COTS Main Street Family Shelter is open 24/7, providing emergency shelter for up to ten families at a time, housing support services, and specialized programming for children. In addition to the ten private rooms for each family, the facility offers a shared double kitchen, dining room, living area, playroom, and six bathrooms.
Physical Address: 278 Main St., Burlington, VT
Firehouse Family Shelter
Firehouse Family Shelter is open 24/7, providing emergency shelter for up to five families at a time, housing support services, and specialized programming for children. In addition to the five private rooms for each family, the facility offers a shared kitchen, dining room, living area, playroom, and four bathrooms. This was COTS’ first family shelter facility.
Physical Address: 120 N Champlain St., Burlington, VT
