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Advocate for Affordable Housing and Long-Term Care

2025 Legislative Priorities

Our mission requires robust funding to provide the best housing, care and services possible for our residents and SASH® (Support and Services at Home) participants. Part of our efforts to secure this funding include advocating at a state and federal level for increased investment in affordable housing, supportive services, and long-term care. Going into the 2025 legislative session, the housing crisis is very much still front and center and our priorities are aimed at both addressing the current need and advocating for broader systems change.

Here is a summary of Cathedral Square's 2025 priorities:

  1. Increase funding for long-term care – Increase Enhanced Residential Care (ERC) Medicaid rates that cover the true cost of care for residents that need nursing home level of care. Ensure annual rate increases to Medicaid reimbursement rates for all home and community-based providers to keep pace with inflation and cover the increasing cost of care; and implement a regular rate review and update process.
  2. Increase funding of permanently affordable and service-enriched housing to prevent homelessness and build vibrant and inclusive communities – Direct the full statutory share of the Property Transfer Tax (PTT) of $34M to Vermont Housing & Conservation Board along with additional one-time funds to prioritize new construction of affordable housing, reinvestment in existing affordable communities, and to establish a supportive services fund.
  3. Preserve and expand SASH – Continue to support full SASH funding to Cathedral Square for statewide administration with an annual increase to help off-set inflation and ensure SASH funding from Medicare is part of Vermont’s implementation of the AHEAD model.

2025 Legislative Priorities

We encourage you to reach out to your legislators and share your support for these priorities, especially if you have lived experience and have been positively impacted by the housing and services we provide. Below are links to help you find out who your representatives are and how to contact them.

Contact your Vermont state legislators:

Contact your members of Congress:

To learn more about how our top three legislative priorities fared during the 2024 legislative session, you can read our session recap here.

Join Us on VHCC Legislative Day

Join us in Montpelier on Friday, February 14th for the Vermont Housing and Conservation Coalition (VHCC) Legislative Day at the State House – a day when affordable-housing and conservation supporters come together to champion the projects supported by Vermont Housing and Conservation Board (VHCB) funding. Those projects include Cathedral Square housing communities and initiatives to support our residents.

Legislators need to hear from you – residents who benefit from the housing and programs of Cathedral Square and SASH – about how VHCB-funded projects are helping solve some of Vermont’s most pressing issues. Together, our partnership with VHCB helps fight homelessness, improves water quality, creates affordable housing, supports downtown development, protects Vermont’s priceless landscape, and promotes rural economic development, including working farms and the forest economy.

REGISTER FOR VHCC LEGISLATIVE DAY

Share Your Story

We rely on the stories of residents and family members who have been helped by Cathedral Square and SASH to educate people about the critical need for affordable, service-enriched housing for older Vermonters and people with disabilities. Sharing these stories with legislators, policymakers, funding agencies and others is one of the most powerful ways we can raise awareness and build support for the type of supportive housing Cathedral Square provides.

We’ll gladly help you craft your story, or we can interview you and create a draft for your review. Please contact Natalie Glynn at glynn@cathedralsquare.org or call her at 802-859-8880 to get started.

Write a Letter to the Editor

Has your local paper run an article about the housing crisis in Vermont and the special challenges older adults and people with disabilities are facing? Sharing your thoughts in a Letter to the Editor is a great way to continue the conversation and get the attention of community members and decision makers. Generally speaking, a Letter to the Editor is written in direct response to something recently published and is usually 250 words or less. Here are four steps to help you craft your message:

  1. Why is this issue important to you? Make a value statement and be sure to mention the article to which you're responding.
  2. How has this issue impacted you? Share your personal story and be specific about the challenges you've experienced. 
  3. What solution are you proposing? Share your vision for the future of affordable housing and services for older adults and those with diverse needs.
  4. Offer a clear and concise call to action. What is one simple step people can take to support the solution you've described?

If you'd like help writing a letter, please feel free to reach out to Natalie Glynn at glynn@cathedralsquare.org or call her at 802-859-8880.

Other Ways to Show Your Support

If you’re able to make a financial contribution, please consider a gift to support the work of Cathedral Square and SASH. Cathedral Square is a nonprofit organization, so all donations are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. Donations can be made online at cathedralsquare.org/donate or by mailing a check payable to Cathedral Square, 412 Farrell St., Suite 100, S. Burlington, VT 05403.

You also might suggest to friends and relatives that they make a gift to Cathedral Square in honor of your birthday or other milestone. And many residents choose to leave a bequest to Cathedral Square and/or SASH in their will as a way to show their appreciation for the quality of life they have enjoyed thanks to Cathedral Square and SASH.

For information about any of these giving opportunities, please contact Natalie Glynn at glynn@cathedralsquare.org or call 802-859-8880.