Working as a Census enumerator in my own town has its educational side. I've learned some interesting things about Winchendon in the last few weeks, like where some of the farms are (knew their names, never saw the farms before), and what passes for a "road" in some spots (you'd never guess from the map...but I've driven down some "roads" in Winchendon that make the now-famous Mellen Road look like the Autobahn).

But one of the most surprising realizations is how many apartments there are in Winchendon...and even more surprising, how many of those apartments are empty.

We don't have apartment buildings, so much. We have Toy Town Condos, and Winchendon Housing Authority's two complexes, but most of Winchendon's apartments are converted houses, or buildings of some other kind. There are duplexes and four-plexes, three-deckers, re-purposed small factory buildings, converted Victorian mansions, in-law apartments--some of them beautiful, others a bit worse for wear. But shiny or shabby, unoccupied apartment units are everywhere in town.

It's surprising because it seems to be so hard to find an apartment in Winchendon. Over the years I've seen so many people asking for help finding a place to live. I never see a local apartment listed anywhere. How these landlords connect with their tenants, I have no idea. I have no idea what the typical rent is in Toy Town. But it does seem that an opportunity is being missed, on both sides. We have homeless people here, and in neighboring communities. Why is our apartment vacancy rate so high?

It's evident that to some extent, the apartment problem is similar to the problem with the crumbling commercial buildings and vacant houses dotted around Winchendon, slowly decaying. People own property, can't afford to maintain it or take care of some costly repair, either can't sell the property or don't want to, and just let it sit there and deteriorate. It doesn't take more than a year or two of neglect before the expense and work of renovating a house or even just an apartment in a house become daunting.

But what does this do to the town as a whole? Who wants to live next door to a derelict building or a vacant, run-down apartment? Advocates for the homeless have been beating against this wall for many years. We have homeless people and unpeopled homes; why can't we find creative ways to get them together?

People need to have an investment in a community before they care about what happens to it. Comfortable homes that residents can feel safe and settled in give back far more to a town than property taxes. They help people feel that they belong to a place and want to contribute to its well-being.

Winchendon has quite a varied mix of housing, but with more affordable housing we could attract, and keep, more younger people and young families in town.

Winchendon needs an articulated housing policy--ways to encourage the owners of unused property and housing to make them available to people who need homes. What can we do, as a town, to make this happen?

Inanna Arthen