Serving Sanford, Springvale and the surrounding towns of Alfred, Kennebunk, Lebanon, North Berwick, Wells, Shapleigh and Acton.
Hello. My name is Diane Gerry. I have been Executive Director of the Sanford Housing Authority since November of 2019.
It was an honor to accept this position. Most of my work life has been centered around helping people find housing opportunities. I worked in the General Assistance Office at Sanford Town Hall for six years and I was the Chief Operations Officer at York County Shelter Programs for nine years.
I grew up in Sanford, and I have witnessed firsthand the difficulties our community members have faced as jobs disappeared – and yet housing costs increased. Finding safe and affordable housing is a problem faced by far too many. It affects working people, retired people, and people who cannot work because of disabilities and life challenges.
Nothing is more central to a person’s well-being than having a safe and comfortable place to call home. It is nearly impossible to thrive without it. How can we expect people to look for jobs, to take care of basic needs – if they do not have a stable home?
The Sanford Housing Authority works to find housing for people not only in Sanford-Springvale, where we own 228 units – and where we occasionally sell houses we renovate and resell at affordable prices – we also provide housing vouchers to people living in nearby towns.
The problem of affordable housing is not just in our towns. It is nationwide. As such, we work with federal and state agencies. But please know that SHA is right here – at 17 School Street –where our focus every day is on helping the people in our communities find a place they can call home.
Please feel free to reach out to me or SHA staff, if you would like to know more about what we offer. I am at dgerry@sanfordhousing.org.
