What We Do

Charter House serves adults experiencing homelessness in and around Addison County, Vermont. The shelter, which operates 365 days per year, provides safe, comfortable temporary housing for up to 25 individuals while professional staff provide housing case management, a meal program for shelter guests and anyone else who needs a meal, and street outreach. Charter House is the lead agency for coordinated entry and referrals in Middlebury.

Meet Our Board

Mary Jane Nottonson, President

Mary Jane is a healthcare management professional with a career in skilled nursing administration. She moved to Addison County in 2017 and enjoys nordic skiing, hiking, bicycling, and gardening. 

Stephen Diehl, Vice President 

Stephen is associate director of public affairs at Middlebury College and is pleased to bring his many years of professional communications experience to the Charter House board. A lifelong Vermonter, Stephen is a fast walker, a slow runner, and an avid hiker who loves being out in the Vermont landscape.

Walter Stugis, Secretary

Walter was President of the board for five years, and is currently Secretary. He is a graduate of Hamilton College and the NYU graduate business school. In his marketing career, he was a principal in a marketing company that put clients like Pfizer and Nestle into mutually beneficial program relationships with networks of local nonprofits, like animal shelters, using digital platforms. He was a volunteer firefighter, attaining the rank of captain.

At Charter House he is focused on securing grants from private foundations and corporations, and managing the marketing program. He spent twenty-five years as a volunteer leader of an organization that served the homeless in NYC.

He enjoys having lunch at Charter House and hanging out with guests and staff – he will occasionally take out the recycling and garbage.  He lives in Middlebury with his pastel-artist wife Cristine Kossow and cat Molly, who are both expert nappers.

Grover Usilton, Treasurer

Grover has been a member of the Charter House Board since October 2024. He currently serves as the Treasurer and is a member of the Executive Committee. Grover worked for the National Bank of Middlebury for 25 years. He was previously a board member of the Addison County Chamber of Commerce and the United Way of Addison County. Residing in Cornwall with his wife Ellen where they raised their two children. Grover has been active with youth lacrosse and football in Middlebury for many years. He enjoys spending time with his family and the outdoors.

Judi Ellwood

Judi has had a 45-year career as a nurse, and for the past twenty years worked in a Federal Qualified Health Center (FQHC) as a Nurse Practitioner. She holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing and a Masters of Science with an emphasis on psychiatric/mental health nursing. She did post-graduate work through Planned Parenthood in conjunction with Drexel University to get a certification in women’s health.

As a nurse practitioner, she had many clients who struggled with stress and depression related to housing issues. Her interest in Charter house is to help the organization address these needs for the community.

Judi has lived in the same house in Salisbury, Vermont for over forty years. Over those years she raised two daughters and a lot of beef cows, pigs, turkeys and dogs. Recently retired, she is currently animal free for the first time and is now eager to devote time to community service at Charter House.

Nathan Hayes

Nathan Hayes works as a Sergeant at the Middlebury Police Department.  He has been with the department since 2010 when he started as a Patrol Officer until he was promoted in 2021.  He supervises the Field Training program at the department and is an EVOC (Emergency Vehicle Operation Course) Instructor, helping to train recruits at the Vermont Police Academy.  Nathan was born and raised in Vermont.

Jason LaRocque

Jason is a founding partner of Otter Creek Engineering, joining the organization as a Senior Engineering Technician and becoming President in 2017.

He has over twenty years of experience in Project Development, Project Management, Design, and Construction Review. His work includes large-scale commercial site work, municipal sewer and water design, and school and university improvement projects.

Jason is a graduate of Vermont Technical College with a degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology. He spends considerable time giving back to his community, and he has served as the Chair of the Patricia A. Hannaford Regional Technical School District and is currently the Prudential Committee Chair of East Middlebury Fire District #1 and sits on the Development Review Board for the Town of Middlebury.

Wendy Warren

Wendy came to Vermont in 1976 and graduated from Green Mountain College with a degree in Business Management. She has always sought opportunities to work with those who may be less advantaged in both her volunteer and professional life. 

She currently works in mental health for the Counseling Service of Addison County (CSAC) and has also worked with developmentally disabled clients.

She has served as chair of the Mission and Social Concerns Board at the Congregational Church of Middlebury, supporting many not-for -profit groups local, national & international, including raising over 6 tons of food for HOPE the past two years. She volunteered as a Court Advocate for WomenSafe, and for Festival on the Green. She is the spokesperson for the Greater Buttolph Neighborhood working with Town Officials for pedestrian safety in the neighborhood. 

She has owned businesses in residential home remodeling, sign making and the manufacturing and wholesaling of natural sleep products.

Vicky Wideman

Vicky has been involved with Charter House for over a decade and previously served as president of the Board of Directors. Over the years, she has enjoyed engaging with guests, helping out in the kitchen, coordinating the vegetable gardens and working with Middlebury College interns (she is a graduate of Middlebury College). 

She is looking forward to working on a new strategic plan to guide Charter House in the coming years. She currently lives in Charlotte with her dog Ben.

Keegan Gilsenan, Middlebury College Alumni Liaison to the Board

Keegan, a 2025 graduate of Middlebury College, served on the board as a student through his position as president of the Middlebury College Charter House Coalition Student Organization. Keegan stepped down from his position on the board after landing a job teaching history in his hometown of Greenwich, CT. We are fortunate that he will continue his involvement with the board through developing a network of Middlebury College alumni who have served as volunteers at Charter House.

History

Charter House Coalition was chartered as a 501c3 in June 2006 when a few concerned community members realized there was a growing need for emergency shelter and meals in Addison County. A group of volunteers from the Middlebury Congregational Church launched the Community Suppers and Pleasant Street Community Housing programs a few months later.  

Community Suppers served free warm and nutritious meals each Friday evening year-round, often serving 250 meals each week. The housing program began small, providing shelter for homeless people on an emergency basis.

In 2009, in response to increasing need within the community, Charter House Coalition responded again with two new programs: Community Lunches, and the Charter House Warming Shelter. Community Lunches grew to serve upwards of 50 lunches each day in our dining room and provided vital human connections for many at-risk community members. 

The Charter House Warming Shelter began by providing a warm, safe place to sleep from mid-October to mid-April for up to 24 adults. In the early days, we also operated a separate shelter space for up to five families with children.  

Growth to Meet Increasing Demand

Support programs steadily grew and we were designated by the State to be the Lead Agency for Coordinated Entry in Addison County – that means we are responsible for coordinating with all of the other social service agencies and affordable housing organizations to make sure that everyone that is homeless or at risk of being unhoused gets the support and referrals necessary to assist them to reach their permanent housing goals.

In 2019, Charter House provided 40,000 meals and 4,500 “bed nights” for people in need (a bed night is one person spending one night in the shelter). We were getting better and better at what we do, and doing more and more of it. That included keeping the shelter open even during the warm months because people deserve to have a safe place to sleep and a dignified connection to the community…even when it’s warm outside. 

Rising to the Challenge of Covid

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Vermont, hundreds of people in distress were sent our way from all around the state, and from beyond Vermont’s borders. Initially, we emptied the shelter to avoid a potential outbreak from the close-quartered congregate living, moving people to local hotels with State assistance. The community meals program converted to take-out only.

We eventually moved adults back to the shelter under strict Covid protocols, while also caring for approximately 100 people still in the hotels. Our kitchen served between 200–300 meals a day and our staff and volunteers delivered those meals to hotel guests’ doors, also making daily health and well-being check-ins. In 2020 our meal count shot up to over 90,000 and our “bed nights” went up to over 24,000. In 2022, bed nights were 35,000 and meals increased to 106,000.

Along the way, with emergency relief funding, we made significant upgrades to our shelter facility including a fresh air ventilation system, an outdoor pavilion, an elevator, new flooring, and shower and bath upgrades.