Spectrum Youth & Family Services

Mission: To empower teenagers, young adults, and their families to make and sustain positive changes through prevention, intervention, and life skills services.

In 1970, a group of community members wanted to start a shelter to house the growing number of at-risk youth who were running away from foster homes. The Burlington Ecumenical Action Ministry teamed up with this group of concerned citizens to found SHAC, which stood for Shelter Action and later became known as Spectrum Youth & Family Services.

Spectrum has continued to grow and now offers an extensive range of crucial services for youth in our community.

Basic Needs and Supportive Housing: At our Drop-In Centers in Burlington and St. Albans, we provide necessities like a warm place to get a meal or do laundry. At the Landing (our emergency shelter) and in our supportive housing residences, youth who are facing homelessness can stay for months or years and get the help they need to build a life for themselves.

Skills Programs: We offer coaching and mentoring for young people on basic life and survival skills, such as getting an education, finding and keeping a job, finding a place to live, or getting a driver’s license so that they can transition successfully to adulthood. We work with youth from diverse backgrounds, with specific programs for youth who identify as multicultural or who are in state custody.

Prevention and Intervention: We help young people and their families address substance abuse and mental health issues, and other critical issues that stand in the way of a happy, thriving adulthood through counseling, mentoring, and stabilization services for families in crisis.