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Showing posts with label Windham Neighbors Helping Neighbors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Windham Neighbors Helping Neighbors. Show all posts

Friday, September 5, 2025

Diamond leaves a legacy of exceptional public service to community

By Ed Pierce

There’s an old saying that “to live in hearts we leave behind is not to die” and for Windham’s beloved state legislator, educator and businessman Bill Diamond, that expression rings true.

Bill Diamond of Windham, a longtime legislator, educator,
business owner and child welfare advocate, has died at the 
age of 80. He co-founded Windham Neighbors Helping
Neighbors to provide heat assistance to those in need and
the Walk A Mile In Their Shoes Foundation to end 
child homicide in Maine.  FILE PHOTO  
Diamond, 80, passed away Sunday, Aug. 31 after a hard-fought battle with cancer and the outpouring of kind words and sentiment for him and his family has been non-stop. Having spent more than 40 years in politics and service as Maine’s Secretary of State from 1989 to 1997, Diamond leaves behind a legacy few will equal.

A lifelong Democrat, Diamond first ran for the Maine House of Representatives in 1976 as a write-in candidate and defeated Republican Barbara Strong. He won re-election for the seat in 1978 by defeating Republican Carole Bean. He won a third term in the Maine House in 1980 while running unopposed. In 1982, he beat Republican David Huber to win a Maine State Senate seat representing Windham, and he then defeated Republican Ken Cole in 1984 to win re-election before stepping down from the legislature at that time.

He grew up on his grandfather’s farm in West Gardiner and came to Southern Maine to study to become a teacher at Gorham State Teacher’s College, earning a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in education. He married his wife Jane in 1968, and the couple raised two daughters, Kristin and Karyn, in Windham and now have eight grandchildren. His actual first name was George but preferred to be known by his middle name, William.

Many students in Windham and Raymond will recall Diamond as their school principal or teacher. He taught from 1968 to 1986 in Windham schools and was the first principal of Windham’s Manchester School. He went on to lead Field-Allen Junior High School and Windham Middle School as principal and was Superintendent of Schools for Raymond. Diamond also served as superintendent and director of governmental relations for the controversial Elan School in Poland.

His interests varied outside of politics and education. He earned a brown belt in karate and was the owner of the now-closed Windham Independent newspaper. He was also a long-time co-owner of All-Med Medical Staffing in Windham and owned a security business for many years in town.

Before becoming Maine’s 45th Secretary of State in 1989, Diamond threw his hat into the ring in a bid to become governor in 1986 and then campaigned for the 1st Congressional District position in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994, losing in the Democratic Primary.

In 2004, Diamond defeated Republican Joe Bruno of Raymond to win the Maine Senate District 12 seat and won re-election in 2006, 2008 and 2010 before being term limited. Four years later in 2014, Diamond defeated Republican Kaile Warren to win the Maine Senate District 26 seat and subsequently won re-election to that position in 2016, 2018, and 2020.

As the cost of heating homes rose in the early 2000s, Diamond co-founded and served as president of Windham Neighbors Helping Neighbors in 2007, an all-volunteer effort which raised money to provide emergency heating oil to community residents in need. He also served as a board member for the Maine State Society for the Protection of Animals in Windham and Hospice of Southern Maine.

Before leaving political office in 2022, Diamond was known statewide as a staunch advocate for children and led Maine Senate investigations into prominent deaths of abused children whose families were relegated to the state’s child welfare system. In 2014, Diamond wrote a book about the subject called “The Evil and the Innocent.”

In 2023, Diamond launched the “Walk A Mile In Their Shoes Foundation,” a non-profit dedicated to preventing child homicides and the abuse of children who are under the supervision or direct care of the State of Maine or who are or have been associated with the state’s Child Protective System.

“Children associated with state care have been dying at record levels, in fact, as recently as 2021 a record number of children died, many were victims of child homicides,” Diamond said at the time. “The chilling question is: How many more children must die before we make meaningful changes?”

He said he was first made aware of the issues affecting child homicide in Maine and the state’s child protection system in 2001.

“The problem has continued to persist over the past 22 years under four different gubernatorial administrations, Independent, Republican, and Democrat,” he said in launching the foundation. “The problems are not partisan based. They are the concern of all of us. This is the most important thing I’ve ever been able to do, nothing comes close.”

One of the purposes of the foundation is to bring people from a variety of interests and backgrounds together to develop meaningful strategies for positive changes to protect children who are the innocent victims of a broken system and to work with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of Child and Family Services in a joint effort to improve the state’s child safety policies and practices and truly make a difference.

“We really don’t want to think about these children because it cuts deeply into our souls,” Diamond said earlier this year. “But we must if we want to help.”

In June, Diamond made his final public appearance at the 2025 Windham Summerfest Parade as he was honored as the Modern Woodmen of America’s Hometown Hero for 2025.

Funeral arrangements are pending. <

Friday, October 22, 2021

Neighbors Helping Neighbors organization preparing for another heating assistance season

Watch for information about Windham Neighbors Helping 
Neighbors online auction which will help provide funds
for heating assistance for local families. If you would like
to donate, go to windhamnighbors.com
COURTESY PHOTO
 By Ed Pierce

If you ask Bill Diamond what’s been one of the most rewarding feelings that he’s ever experienced, he’ll tell you it’s his association with the Windham Neighbors Helping Neighbors program.

Diamond, a state senator representing Windham and former Maine Secretary of State, helped co-found Neighbors Helping Neighbors, which helps area residents in need stay warm during some of the coldest months of the year. He served as the organization’s president for 13 years before deciding to let new leaders steer the group.

But Neighbors Helping Neighbors is a source of pride for Diamond and remains a relevant and viable resource in the community as Windham and Raymond approach another winter heating season.

“The community has become totally supportive, much more so than I ever expected which is evidenced by the routine unsolicited donations we receive throughout the year,” Diamond said.

The program provides one-time emergency heating fuel assistance to Windham residents and helps to direct individuals in need to find appropriate resources and to promote a culture of neighbors helping neighbors in the community.

“The community believes in our cause, and we have become the default local charity when groups or individuals want to donate to a good local cause,” Diamond said. “Hopefully the organization will continue to grow and nurture the solid reputation that has been achieved. I have no doubt that will be the case.”

Windham’s Neighbors Helping Neighbors organization was founded in October 2007 by Diamond, Representative Mark Bryant, and former Representative Gary Plummer. It is a 501c3 non-profit and is made up of Windham volunteers who have come together to provide one-time emergency assistance to those Windham residents who require immediate heating fuel.

Patrick Corey is currently serving as the president of Neighbors Helping Neighbors.

The organization itself has no overhead costs whatsoever and all funding goes directly to helping those in desperate need. Every penny that is donated goes for heating fuel and 100 percent of fundraising efforts are used for the purchase of fuel for those who are in dire need.

Diamond says the organization focuses its resources on those who may have fallen through the cracks and either don’t qualify or are in a bureaucratic process waiting for heating assistance from other agencies.

“The most striking and unforgettable case that we helped involved a single mom with two kids and she had serious physical challenges,” Diamond said. “We heard about her needs, so we visited her home in January and discovered she was totally out of heating fuel and in an effort to keep her family warm, she had placed blankets on the doorways surrounding the kitchen, had a small electric heater and they all slept and lived in that space.”

He said that the family slept closely together at night using their body heat to keep them warm.

“This was happening in our own town, not some poverty-stricken country, and it was heartbreaking to see and realize that the struggle to obtain the basics of survival exist here in Windham and no doubt in other towns as well,” Diamond said. “I’ll never forget the expression on her face when we told her we would provide heating fuel for her family, which we did that day. That experience was my motivating force to make Neighbors a highly respected organization that would exist indefinitely for those in our town that need help.”

The heating assistance can be a lifeline for those struggling to stay warm in winter.

“In many cases, Windham Neighbors Helping Neighbors help people heat their homes safely without needing to choose between basic needs like heat, rent, medications and food,” Diamond said.

Recipients receive 100 gallons of fuel, and their need can be attributed to many different circumstances. Some are elderly and living on fixed incomes, others may have lost a job or be out of work and trying to reestablish their lives, while some may just have a temporary emergency situation that requires an immediate solution.

The program is confidential and harkens back to a time when neighbors banded together to pitch in and help their neighbors when it was needed the most.

The Neighbors Helping Neighbors organization lines up deliveries to recipients. It provides heating oil, but assistance also can be rendered for those with KI and propane systems or through Bio-Bricks for homes using wood-burning heat.

During the first year of operations for Windham Neighbors Helping Neighbors, a total of 17 families were helped. By 2014, that number grew to 101 families, and that total has since stabilized at about 75 families locally each winter.

The organization continues to serve the community because of countless donations of labor, hours, ideas and funding through contributions of money and goods from concerned individuals and businesses, Diamond said.

For more details about Neighbors Helping Neighbors, visit 
https://windhamneighbors.com/site/donate-now/volunteer or call 207-1336. To make a financial donation to the Neighbors Helping Neighbors program, go to https://windhamneighbors.com/site/donate-now/. To apply for assistance, go to https://windhamhelpingneighbors.com
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Friday, December 18, 2020

Help available as need for local heating assistance increases

The nonprofit organization Windham Neighbors
Helping Neighbors provides one-time emergency
heating fuel assistance to Windham and Raymond
residents, and to direct residents to available
long term resources while promoting a culture
of neighbors helping neighbors locally.
COURTESY PHOTO   
By Lorraine Glowczak

At a recent Windham Neighbors Helping Neighbors board meeting, it came to the members’ attention that they have had several new requests this year for heating assistance. Their concern for and offer to those individuals, and others who are facing financial challenges, is to provide more information to the community that help is available in various ways.

“Several new people who made request from us had no idea about applying for LIHEAP (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program),” said Deb McAfee, WNHN Board and Community Service Committee member. “Some people who had reached out to never had to pay the bills before and were unaware where and how to begin.”

McAfee said that WNHN can help individuals who request heating needs while they apply for LIHEAP or are waiting for their appointment for LIHEAP approval. 

Briefly, Windham Neighbors Helping Neighbors, a 501c3 nonprofit, provides one-time emergency heating fuel assistance to Windham and Raymond residents, and help direct individuals to appropriate long-term resources and promote a culture of neighbors helping neighbors.

LIHEAP is a federally funded program through the Department of Health and Human Services. The program provides money to help low-income homeowners and renters pay for heating costs and they assist in paying the heating bills. There are income guidelines for eligibility, and applications are accepted from Aug. 1 through April 30 each year. Contact information for LIHEAP is 1-800-452-4668.

Residents in need can also contact local Windham officials for a LIHEAP application including Rene Daniel, Windham’s General Assistance Administrator. He is available to help with the application process and to answer any questions one may have. He can be reached at 207-892-1906.

Daniel, who also oversees the Windham Food and Clothes Pantries located at 377 Gray Road in Windham, said they have seen a minor spike with the need for services since the pandemic began, including the need for LIHEAP applications

“We’ve seen a small uptick in recent months,” Daniel said. “And we are there to provide the gaps and carryovers from local, state and federal aid. All people need to do is to make an appointment with me and I will help walk them through the LIHEAP application process and we will support everyone who walks through the door. Even if they are not eligible for receiving LIHEAP funding, we will find a way to help in some form.”

Daniel said he is very grateful for local organizations and individuals who give so that others may live in a healthy way and keep warm for the winter.

“I am so lucky to be a part of Windham,” Daniel said. “People in this community are just so giving. I
am especially thankful for Windham Neighbors Helping Neighbors. Once a person applies for federal heating assistance, there is a waiting period, and it is possible their heat may be turned off until they get approved. To prevent this from happening, all I have to do is call Neighbors Helping Neighbors, and they are there to help us fill in the gaps between services.”

The services provided by the Windham General Assistance Program also include food and clothes. Currently, because of the pandemic, the food and clothes pantries are open by appointment only.  

“We ask that people call in and we will prepare the bags of groceries they need,” Daniel said. “Once they arrive, we require people to remain in their vehicles with masks on and we bring out the bags of food and place them in the trunk of their cars. We are getting pretty fast at this drive-up service. In fact, I think we can do it in less than a minute or two – all the while adhering to CDC guidelines for social distancing.”

The eligibility requirements at the Windham Food and Clothes pantries are quite simple.

“We are only one of two food pantries in Maine whose only requirement is proof of Windham residency,” Daniel said. “That is all we ask. We do not ask for anything else.”

The Windham Food Pantry also offers a once-a-month drive through program for older citizens in the area. The next drive thru program for those 60 and older is from 10 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, Jan. 6.

The following is list of resources available for those who are facing financial challenges in the Raymond and Windham communities (heating assistance or otherwise).

Town of Windham:

·         Rene Daniel/Windham Food and Clothes Pantries and heating assistance: 207-892-1906

·         Windham Town Clerk, Linda Morrell: 207-892-3507

·         Judy Vance of Windham Neighbors Helping Neighbors: 207-892-1900. windhamneighbors.com

·         St. Ann’s Essentials Pantry, St. Ann’s Episcopal Church located at 40 Windham Center Road in Windham: Serves families by providing personal and household items that cannot be purchased by an EBT debit card. For more information, call Deacon Wendy Rozene at 207-232-0841.

Town of Raymond:

·         General Assistance Administrator Jennie Silverblade: (207) 655-4742 x 124

·         Raymond Food Pantry: Lake Region Baptist Church, 1273 Roosevelt Trail in Raymond, call 207-428-3637.

·         Town Manager’s Office: Don Willard at (207) 655-4742 x131

·         Raymond Village Community Church at 207-655-7749.

Towns of Raymond, Windham and Standish;

·         Sebago Lakes Region Fuller Center for Housing: Although unable to assist directly with heating needs, they collaborate with Window Dressers – an organization that improves the warmth and comfort of homes, lowering heating costs that reduces CO2 emissions by producing low-cost insulating window inserts that function as interior-mounted storm windows. The local Fuller Center’s mission is to serve older adults who wish to remain in their home by providing home repairs or renovations and yard work with a “pay it forward” mindset. For more information, call 207-838-8378 or send an email to sebagofullerhousinginfo@gmail.com. <