What is Groundworks Collaborative?
Groundworks Collaborative was established in 2015 following the merger of two well-established organizations: the Brattleboro Area Drop-In Center and Morningside Shelter (having previously been in existence for 27 and 36 years respectively). We work with people and systems creating solutions to end hunger and homelessness for all people in our region. We envision a community in which all people have their basic needs met, including a safe and dignified place to call home.
Groundworks operates our region’s largest and busiest food shelf program: Foodworks.
Foodworks Hours:
Mondays: Noon-3pm
Tuesdays: 10am-1pm (Tuesday 10-Noon shopping is reserved for seniors only)
Wednesdays: 3pm-6pm
Thursdays: 10am-1pm
Fridays: Noon-3pm
Donations of non-expired, unopened, and shelf-stable food items can be made during these hours at the rear door of Foodworks. Please do not leave a donation without letting us know—you can call us at 802-490-2412 to approve a donation.
With increasing numbers of shoppers visiting our store each month, Foodworks is distributing more food than ever before. A 2023 inventory study revealed that Groundworks is rescuing and redistributing over $500,000 worth of perfectly good food each year—getting it into the hands of people who need it before it can go to waste.
Foodworks is located at 141 Canal Street, Brattleboro, VT. To reach Foodworks directly, please call: 802-490-2412
Morningside House is a year-round 30-bed shelter for families and individuals. The Shelter offers an extended stay and provides all residents intensive case management, working collaboratively with area non-profit and public agencies to help people connect to a wide range of services including: job training and placement, medical and mental health treatment, family and substance abuse counseling, budget management, nutrition, health education, parenting and child care services, and assistance in identifying and applying for subsidized housing opportunities. Morningside House operates at capacity throughout the year and maintains a waiting list for entry. If you would like to be added to the waiting list, please click here.
Groundworks Drop-In Center and Overnight Shelter – Groundworks provides a safe place where our neighbors experiencing homelessness can come in out of the weather and access services such as email, telephones, laundry, showers, a mailing address, coffee and snacks, and a kitchen to prepare a meal. Since the summer of 2021, this brand new shelter facility at 54 South Main has also provided a warm place to sleep and a hot meal each night for those experiencing homelessness in our community. This overnight shelter was formerly a seasonal wintertime shelter, but is now open year-round.
Housing Support Case Management – Our team of Case Managers work with as many as 200 area households—who are currently or formerly experiencing homelessness—to help find and/or maintain stable housing. For many of the families and individuals with whom we work, our case management model includes weekly home visits to ensure that clients are setting and meeting goals to address the challenges that may have led to their homelessness.
The Representative Payee Program provides financial management by serving as an intermediary between those receiving Social Security disability payments and their benefits. The program ensures that rent and basic living expenses are paid before spending money is disbursed to clients, which keeps participants on budget and in good financial standing, thereby preventing future threat of homelessness.
We work every day supporting people with a number of challenges that lead to food and housing insecurities. We realize that real change will not come until the overall system—that allows people to be homeless and hungry—changes. Changeworks is a committee made up of Groundworks staff, board members, and community volunteers, working to:
- increase awareness around the issues families and individuals experiencing homelessness and food insecurity face in our region;
- actively engage and involve local, State, and Federal agencies and officials to help achieve systemic change; and
- create opportunities for clients to participate and lead advocacy efforts.
Healthworks is a team of embedded healthcare and mental health professionals who work on-site in Groundworks’ programs providing critical physical and mental health services, as well as support for recovery and harm reduction efforts.
Our Healthworks collaboration with the Brattleboro Retreat, Brattleboro Memorial Hospital (BMH), and Health Care and Rehabilitation Services (HCRS) provides Groundworks program participants with direct access to embedded healthcare, mental health, and substance use recovery clinicians, all of whom work on-site at all of our locations, providing psychotherapy and critical early substance abuse recovery supports, health screenings, wound care, medication management, and connection to primary care physicians, thereby reducing emergency room visits. The Healthworks ACT (assertive community treatment) team offers specialized in-patient level care to Groundworks participants—delivered on an outpatient or street level basis in the environments of their lives.
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