Windham receives $80,000 grant for climate preparedness program

Windham, Maine – The town of Windham has been awarded $80,000 in Community Action Grant funding from the state to launch a new Residential Preparedness Program designed to help residents lower energy costs, prepare for extreme weather, and build stronger neighborhood connections.

The program is a collaboration between the town of Windham, Age Friendly Windham, and the Greater Portland Council of Governments. Assistant Town Manager Amanda Lessard explained that the initiative will tailor coaching and outreach to residents, focusing on climate mitigation and adaptation. “We want to help households reduce fossil‑fuel dependence, lower their energy bills, and teach people how to protect their homes during severe storms and long power outages,” Lessard said in an email.

Building on the Greater Portland Energy Coaching program already in use in Yarmouth and Falmouth, the new effort will add household resilience and emergency‑preparedness coaching. It will also develop outreach specific to Windham and adapt materials for older and vulnerable adults.

The program will use a “neighbors‑helping‑neighbors” model that relies on volunteers and local resources to strengthen community ties. Coaches will connect households—especially older adults—to existing energy, housing, and emergency‑preparedness services, as well as local resources such as WindowDressers, the Cumberland County Emergency Management Agency, Windham Community Connect, and the Sebago Lakes Region Fuller Center for Housing.

Senator Tim Nangle, who represents much of Windham in the Maine State Senate, praised the new program. “Preparation before an emergency can make all the difference,” Nangle wrote in a press release. “This grant will give Windham residents practical, trusted help to address immediate needs, find ways to make their homes more energy efficient and prepare for severe weather. I’m grateful to the town, Age‑Friendly Windham and all the local partners who worked together to build a program around what residents actually need.”

The Residential Preparedness grant is part of a $4.7 million allocation announced by Governor Janet Mills on Sept. 2 for Community Action Grants. The funding will be awarded to 63 projects in 72 Maine communities, with the largest grant of $175,000 going to Auburn and Lewiston for a multihazard climate‑change vulnerability assessment.