BRATTLEBORO — A generous contribution made it possible for the Windham & Windsor Housing Trust to offer free laundry services at its properties housing residents on extremely limited incomes.
“We’re so grateful for this thoughtful and direct gift,” said Marion Major, outreach and marketing manager at the housing trust. “We received feedback from one resident that it was like Christmas day finding out their laundry was cost-free.”
Bill Heyman said he feels good knowing 23 people can do laundry at no cost. That’s roughly the number of residents living in three single-room occupancy buildings where laundry facilities went from coin-based to free thanks to a $1,500 donation from Heyman and his partner Rick Garren.
Heyman said he never felt such a big impact for that price tag. The couple received the money through Heyman’s family’s fund, which has been tapped for various charitable causes over the years.
“It’s real grassroots stuff,” Heyman said of the laundry project.
He stressed the importance of having clean clothes for good health and getting or maintaining jobs, noting savings from free laundry can be used for food or other needs.
Heyman would like the state, town or other entity to run a free laundromat for those in need, staffed with people who can connect clients with other resources. He called the project “altruistic but possible.”
His plan is to see what else can be donated to the housing trust to help residents with lesser means. He suggested the possibility of providing laundry detergent and toilet paper.
WWHT staff indicated they would ask residents of the single-room occupancy buildings for feedback on their needs. Major said residents in the units earn about $12,000 to $18,000 a year.
“Our waitlists are extremely long,” she said.
Single-room occupancy units represent “a small fraction of our portfolio but do offer an important option for housing security,” Major said. Laundry facilities were added to 804 Western Ave. and 21 Horton Place in Brattleboro, and the Noyes House in Putney.
Heyman and Garren are longtime business partners as well. They have produced television and film projects in New York City and Vermont.
“I was so grateful you were able to do this with no red tape,” Heyman told housing trust staff.
