Dismas of Vermont Celebrates 40 Years of Fresh Starts: Four Decades of Housing, Community, and Hope after Incarceration

Dismas of Vermont provides a safe place where residents, alongside hundreds of volunteers, share meals, responsibilities, and the work of starting over.

VT, UNITED STATES, October 8, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Dismas of Vermont is marking its 40th anniversary this year, celebrating four decades of welcoming people home after incarceration and trauma and helping them rebuild their lives.

Since opening its first house on Buell Street in Burlington in 1986, the organization has grown to five family-style homes and a growing number of step-down apartments in Burlington, Hartford, Winooski, and Rutland, including the only program of its kind dedicated to women. These homes provide a safe place where residents share meals, responsibilities, and the work of starting over, alongside staff and hundreds of community volunteers. Over 40 years, Dismas has provided 337,719 days of supportive housing to 2,350 people, most of whom are Vermonters returning home after incarceration.

Volunteers led by Rita Whalen McCaffrey founded Dismas of Vermont with a simple idea: people leaving incarceration are more likely to succeed with a supportive community than when they face the transition alone. In 2025, McCaffrey was awarded an honorary doctorate from St. Michael’s College to recognize her lifelong dedication to restorative justice, and in 2026, Vermont magazine named her “one of Vermont’s most influential advocates for criminal justice reform.” In her 80s, Rita is still closely involved. McCaffrey says, “Our inspiration has always been about building community, which starts inside the walls of a Dismas house among staff and residents. We invite volunteers from the community into our homes, and the positive tides we turn together ripple out into the regions we serve and the families we touch. Being in community is the secret sauce that has held us together.”

To this day, volunteers, students, donors, faith communities, and partners such as the Vermont Department of Corrections have been central to the work. Volunteers have donated more than 285,000 hours toward resident success.

Joshua Jewett, a Rutland Dismas House alumnus, now works as a Certified Peer Support Provider and sits on the Dismas Board of Directors. “Dismas was the first place where I felt genuinely seen and valued after years of struggling with my addiction, being in and out of homelessness, and incarceration. Walking through the doors at Dismas, I wasn’t treated like a mistake or a file number; I was treated like a person with a future worth investing in. The routine, the shared meals, the honest conversations around the table gave me space to slow down, breathe, and rebuild myself piece by piece. That foundation allowed me to step into recovery, stability, and eventually my current work.”

The Volunteer Cooks Program at Dismas has prepared, served, and shared more than 29,000 meals. With a mission of reconciliation, Dismas volunteers play a critical role in fostering social inclusion for a community that is often stigmatized and excluded.

Jewett continues, “I left Dismas with a deeper understanding of accountability, humility, and community. I learned that healing isn’t something you do alone; it happens in relationships, in showing up for others, and in letting others show up for you. I learned how to be honest about where I’m at, how to repair harm, and how to keep moving forward even when the past feels heavy.”

Jim Curran has served as the executive director since 2020. In thinking ahead, Curran says, “We will continue to harness the spirit of community, acceptance, and care to meet people’s growing needs. We will continue to create and provide opportunity where there seems to be none. We will lean in where others might back away because the work feels uncomfortable, hard, or too risky. The goal will remain the same: to make sure everyone has access to a safe and caring community, regardless of the worst day of their life.”

About Dismas of Vermont
Dismas of Vermont is a nonprofit organization that provides transitional housing and community-based support for people reentering society after incarceration and trauma under a mission to reconcile the formerly incarcerated with society and society with the formerly incarcerated. It achieves this through family-style living, supportive services, and an extensive volunteer network. Dismas aims to help residents build stability, strengthen relationships, and contribute positively to their communities. The Dismas House of Nashville, TN, the country’s first Dismas House, inspired and supported the founding of Dismas of Vermont. To donate, volunteer, or learn more, visit dismasofvt.org.

Christina Goodwin
Dismas of Vermont
+1 802-999-4090
christina@dismasofvt.org
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