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.

For us, affordability is not just a buzzword. It is at the very core of our work to address the cost-of-living crisis experienced by so many families today.

First and foremost, we are steadfast in our commitment to create permanently affordable homes throughout southeastern Vermont. In 2025, we completed construction on Central & Main in Windsor and welcomed 25 households to their new energy efficient, modern rental homes in the Upper Valley. We also broke ground for the Alice Holway Drive project in Putney. Now 25 households are excited to move into a newly constructed building in the heart of Putney Village. Finally, we successfully permitted and funded Phase I of the Chalet Redevelopment in West Brattleboro which will feature a newly constructed building with 31 rental homes. When all phases are complete, this revitalized parcel will include a total of 70 new homes including 8 affordable homeownership opportunities.

What makes these new communities special is that they will be affordable and well-managed in perpetuity and these homes will not fall prey to the speculative nature of the housing market. They will provide homes for middle- and low-income households with long term affordability protections, laying the groundwork for a stable and thriving life.

Our work also addresses the affordability challenge of our aging housing stock. Through our Green Mountain Home Repair Program, Vermonters have access to low-cost loans and grants to complete health and safety upgrades to their homes, repairs that they otherwise could not afford. And through our continued administration of the Vermont Home Improvement Program, we are helping private property owners bring rental homes back online, many of which were in significant disrepair and not fit for occupancy. Fixing up homes, whether owner occupied or to prepare them for a renter, is a win for everyone involved because it is a cost-effective way to preserve existing homes in our community and improves the quality of life for those who live in them.

The cost-of-living crisis isn’t exclusively about housing costs. Vermont and the nation suffer from income inequality, under-investment in public resources, a confusing and hard-to-access health care system and a frayed social safety net. All of these variables can affect affordability in other areas of one’s life. To help address this, WWHT provides services through our SASH and SASH for All Programs and our in-house staff support our residents in gaining access to community resources that will allow for successful tenancy and improved health outcomes. 

We are proud of the work of our team to create permanently affordable homes and to support the residents who live in them. Read more about the direct impact of these programs in the 2025 Annual Report: Delivering our Mission. We couldn’t do this work without the support of institutional and individual donors in our community supporters.  Thank you for your partnership in helping Southeastern Vermont thrive!

With gratitude,