Stephen Marshall

Through my early adult years, I struggled with trauma and to choose a path in life. About two decades ago (I'm 64 now), I realized that everything is accomplished through relationships, and began to focus on listening and empathy. This is the first formula, for how to live a life, that has worked for me. I began work in social services, for the homeless community, about six years ago, and almost four years ago I was invited, as a person with "lived experience", to join the steering committee of the Chittenden County Homeless Alliance, which distributes funding from HUD for various services to the homeless community. I have consistently advocated for the dignity and safety of persons without housing, including legalization of camping. In 2020 I will enter a graduate program at UVM in Community Development and Applied Economics, to answer questions about the housing market, why the cost of living is so high, and how to structure the economy to reward cooperation. I and my partner are both working on some form of a tiny house, and are looking for a place to live where wecan also park our projects.

Panel:
Tiny Houses—Wedging Open the Conversation About Housing and Community
with John Connell (moderator), Mary Simons + youth journalists of Conversations From the Open Road, Stephen Marshall, Ingrid Pixley, and Mary Chapman
Community Vision Stage, 12:00pm

Tiny Houses are not the end-all-be-all answer to housing, however, tiny houses do wedge open conversations around expanding what we need to do to meet our communities’ growing housing needs. This panel will share personal experiences and efforts in their own communities and those they have visited.