The Spectrum Youth and Family Services has been offering shelter and support services to at-risk and homeless youth since 1970. The organization is located in

Burlington, Vermont Burlington, officially the City of Burlington, is the List of municipalities in Vermont, most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the county seat, seat of Chittenden County, Vermont, Chittenden County. It is located south of the Can ...

, and serves youth ages 14–21.

History

In 1970 the Burlington Ecumenical Action Ministry founded SHAC, which stood for Shelter Action and later became known as Spectrum Youth and Family Services. Present-day Senator

Patrick Leahy Patrick Joseph Leahy ( ; born March 31, 1940) is an American politician and attorney who represented Vermont in the United States Senate from 1975 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he also was the pr ...

, then the Chittenden County

State's Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

(local prosecutor), was one of Spectrum’s early board members.

Programs

Of primary importance is the Spectrum One Stop (SOS). It is located in downtown Burlington and houses all of Spectrum's services are under one roof. SOS is open seven days a week. Staff provides eligible clients with the basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter. Other services include employment and job-skills training, education, life-skills training, mental health and substance abuse counseling, mentoring, violence intervention programs, juvenile justice, and street outreach. The organization's residential programs provide homeless and at-risk youth with emergency shelter and transitional living arrangements. There are a total of 28 beds in three shelters for homeless youths. A fourth site doubles as an emergency shelter but is designed as a drop-in center which offers youth ages 14–21 services, including education, employment, substance abuse and mental health counseling. retrieved February 3, 2009 In terms of basic needs, the drop-in center serves as a safe place for young people to eat a meal, use the telephone, do laundry, get clothing, or take a shower. In 2009, Spectrum served 3,000 youths.

Awards

In 2009, the

National Network for Youth National Network for Youth (NN4Y) was founded in 1974 as the National Network of Runaway and Youth Services (NNRYS), as a membership association of community-based organizations that aimed to focus on the needs of youth in runaway and homeless si ...

named the group "Agency of the Year". And in 2010, Spectrum's Counseling Program was awarded an Innovation Award in Substance Abuse Services (iAward) sponsored by the State Associations of Addiction Services (SAAS) and NIATx. Spectrum was chosen for this national award for its rapid referral and assessment program, which reduces wait times for outpatient services, such as treatment for drug and alcohol abuse.

References

Organizations based in Burlington, Vermont 1970 establishments in Vermont Mental health organizations based in Vermont Addiction organizations in the United States Organizations established in 1970 {{Vermont-stub