About Us

For most Vermonters, whether we rent or own, the idea of “home” is much more than the roof over our heads. Home is an emotional destination — the anchor of our daily life, our comfort zone, a place where we belong. It’s where families unite, gather and grow; it’s where young people dream of the future and elders hold their memories close. Home empowers us, protects us, restores us, and inspires us. Home provides us with a sense of place.

The Windham & Windsor Housing Trust has a tag line — Home Matters Here. We chose this phrase because it speaks to the very tangible ways home influences our lives, but also to its place and meaning in our communities. When neighbors live in stable, healthy homes they have better physical and mental health, reduced stress and their children perform better in school. The benefit to these neighbors is passed on to our whole community in significant ways. A family that spends less for housing costs can afford to spend more on other items, including groceries, clothing and health care. They can also afford to save more for emergencies or for major purchases such as a car or education. This provides our whole community with greater economic, social, educational, and workforce stability.

We are inspired by the vision that all people in Southeastern Vermont have a home they can afford. These homes are safe, are environmentally and economically sustainable, and enhance our neighborhoods, building a community that is diverse, vibrant, and respectful – a place where all residents feel a sense of well-being, belonging and connection.

Vermont is one of the states in the nation with the highest, per capita, number of people without a home, second only to California. And many who are fortunate enough to have home live in unfavorable conditions, pay too much of their income for housing costs and struggle with day to day expenses.  These are the challenges we address every day and we are so proud of the tremendous progress we made the 2022.

• In January, we broke ground on the Bellows Falls Garage with the removal of the severely blighted existing building making space for 27 new, beautiful and affordable homes. As this report went to print, families movied in to these new homes!
• We also advanced two new construction projects through the design and permitting will result in 25 new homes in Windsor Village and 25 new homes in Putney Village.
• 7 of our earliest buildings, a combined 26 units in Brattleboro and Windsor underwent extensive rehab to tighten efficiencies, accessibility, and upgrade systems
• 9 new shared equity homes came into our program, homes that will remain affordable to future generations of homeowners.
• We launched a new program, SASH For All, a pilot program modeled after our traditional SASH program and provides health and wellness focused support to families where they live.

What started as an effort to rehab a few homes slated for demolition in 1987 has grown into a multi-faceted, highly impactful organization that has helped thousands of Vermonters over the years.  The stories and map in our annual report 35 Years: Home Community Health is a great visual illustration of this impact.

We’re proud to provide better housing opportunities to more than 1,500 Southeastern Vermonters each year. Through our mission-driven focus and ongoing work of transforming properties and neighborhoods, we are preserving the very fabric of our region, allowing residents to thrive and our communities to remain vibrant and economically diverse.

We are so grateful to have your support. Your deep connection to this place and appreciation for the significance of Home is what makes us stronger. Thank you.