By Kolby LaMarche

With dangerously frigid temperatures forecasted for Christmas night, Burlington city leaders announced the opening of an extreme cold weather shelter this Thursday at the Miller Center, located at 130 Gosse Court, in the city’s New North End. 

The decision comes as residents face predicted freezing temperatures and wind chills that meet the city’s threshold for emergency shelter activation.

In a statement Thursday morning, Mayor Emma Mulvaney‑Stanak confirmed the shelter will operate from 5 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 25, through 8 a.m. Friday, Dec. 26, providing a warm place for individuals experiencing homelessness during the peak of the cold snap. 

Transportation will be made available from downtown pickup points beginning at 4:30 and 5 p.m., and the shelter will allow pets and operate with minimal barriers to access.

The Miller Center emergency shelter is part of a locally managed seasonal response in partnership with the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity (CVOEO). 

According to CVOEO’s emergency response documentation, Burlington has used this site as a temporary overnight warmth shelter during other periods of extreme cold, activating it when state criteria — temperatures below –10°F with windchill — are met, or when the city determines conditions are life‑threatening.

Winter emergency shelter operations in the city are not new. During an early 2023 cold snap in February, the city established a temporary emergency shelter at the Robert Miller Community and Recreation Center in the New North End, where approximately 60 people sought refuge from bitter temperatures. 

Officials at the time described turnout as significantly higher than in past years, noting that shelter usage sometimes reached only a dozen or so individuals during extreme events before. This increase underscored the ongoing need for accessible space in severe weather.

CVOEO explains that the purpose of the extreme cold shelter is to fill critical gaps in overnight safety when traditional year‑round beds are insufficient and the weather becomes life‑threatening. 

The Miller Center site can accommodate up to 100 individuals, and unlike some year‑round shelters, serves adults regardless of sobriety.

These emergency activations occur within a broader regional shelter system. In recent years, Burlington and local partners have expanded options for those experiencing homelessness. The Champlain Place Emergency Shelter reopened in 2025 after substantial renovations, providing year‑round shelter along with cold‑weather‑specific beds from November through April.

Despite these expanded efforts, capacity remains a challenge, the city says. CVOEO’s broader winter emergency housing discussion notes that seasonal motel voucher programs and shelter beds often fill quickly, increasing reliance on extreme weather shelter activations when temperatures plunge..

The Miller Center shelter is designed as a short‑term, high‑impact intervention during dangerously cold nights, rather than a permanent facility. Local service providers emphasize that such shelters exist to prevent cold‑related injuries and deaths — a risk that rises sharply when temperatures drop into the negative double digits.