One Neighborhood Builders

Dec 03

R.I. receives $8M for pilot initiative to increase economic stability in central Providence

By ONE|NB News Coverage

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island has been awarded an $8 million grant for a pilot initiative to increase social and economic mobility for city residents in the 02908 and 02909 zip codes, Gov. Gina M. Raimondo announced on Wednesday. The governor’s office said that the nonprofit Blue Meridian Partners made the two-year investment in the initiative, called Central Providence Opportunities, which will be managed by the Rhode Island Foundation. The foundation will serve as the fiscal sponsor of the initiative and provide technical assistance aimed at building toward a plan to scale the program statewide. The 24-month program will be a collaboration…

Dec 03

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$8-million grant aimed at helping 2 Providence zip codes

By ONE|NB News Coverage

PROVIDENCE — Gov. Gina Raimondo on Wednesday announced an $8-million grant for a pilot initiative to increase economic opportunities and health equity in two central Providence zip codes. The grant will be funded by the philanthropic organization Blue Meridian Partners over the course of two years and will be managed by the Rhode Island Foundation. The investment will be focused in two central Providence zip codes, 02908 and 02909, which have been some of the state’s hardest-hit areas during the coronavirus pandemic. Through Wednesday, 02909 had the second-most cases of COVID-19 per capita since the start of the pandemic. Zip code 02908…

Nov 24

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Broadband Access is a Health and Social Justice Issue — Episode 437 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast

By ONE|NB News Coverage, ONE|NB CONNECTS

by Ry Marcattilio-McCracken Jennifer Hawkins, President and Executive Director of ONE|NB and Christopher Mitchell of the Institute for Local Self Reliance discuss the Olneyville neighborhood, situated on the west side of Providence, and how significant health disparities in that community led ONE|NB to jump into action over the summer to build a free wireless network for the residents. Jennifer and Christopher talk about mapping the network, placing hardware on ONE|NB-owned buildings, and putting up 12 access points to cover more than half of the community with robust wireless. She shares why the project’s been worth it, and the health outcomes they...

Nov 18

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How Tufts Health Plan has supported Rhode Islanders during the COVID-19 Pandemic

By ONE|NB Our Stories & Voices

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to devastate many Rhode Island communities, addressing the unique needs of the families and small businesses that make up the very fabric of this state remains critical. Tufts Health Plan, a local nonprofit health plan, has been working to address food insecurity, the safe reopening of businesses, remote learning needs of students, and has been making other community-level investments that make the organization an integral part of the R.I. community. “This is the state where many of our members and employees proudly live, work and where their children go to school,” said Tom Croswell, president…

Nov 13

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Free Community Wi-Fi as a Health Imperative in One Providence, Rhode Island Neighborhood

By ONE|NB News Coverage, ONE|NB CONNECTS

Thu, November 12, 2020 | by Ry Marcattilio-McCracken Originally posted on November 12, 2020 at Muninetworks.org When the pandemic hit American shores this past spring and cities around the country began to practice social distancing procedures, Rhode Island-based nonprofit One Neighborhood Builders (ONB) Executive Director Jennifer Hawkins quickly realized that many of those in her community were going to be hit hard. As spring turned to summer, this proved especially to be the case in the Olneyville neighborhood in west-central Providence, where Covid-19 cases surged among low-income residents with fewer options to get online to work, visit the doctor, and…

Oct 30

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How COVID-19 has impacted one Providence student’s education and home life.

By ONE|NB Community Health, Our Stories & Voices

Roxana Rosario, Intern ONE Neighborhood Builders is fortunate to work with local universities and give internship opportunities to current students. During the Fall of 2020 we have had the ability to work with Roxana Rosario, a Master’s Degree student at Providence College. Like many students around the world, COVID-19 changed their education model and lifestyle. Roxana and her family are Providence residents who have dealt with the impact of COVID-19 firsthand. Below, is her story Oftentimes, we see things in the news or read things in the history books and feel that our communities could never be touched that way,…

Oct 21

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Hiring For Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

By ONE|NB Our Stories & Voices

One metric for evaluating an organization’s commitment to Diversity Equity and Inclusion is the proportion of staff who reflect the community that the organization serves. A further step is evaluating the proportion of the leadership team (staff and board of directors) that are diverse. ONE|NB works across Greater Providence, but our historical home is the Olneyville neighborhood of Providence: our headquarters is in this neighborhood and it is where most of rental apartments are located. Olneyville residents are ethnically and racial diverse with two-thirds identifying as Latinx while 18% identify as Black and 7% as two or more races. In…

Oct 08

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ONE|NB launches community WiFi network in Olneyville

By ONE|NB News Coverage, ONE|NB CONNECTS

“The internet is a public utility – No one questions whether you should have access to clean water and heat and so forth, right? For so long we just considered the internet to be a luxury, a convenience. But it really has absolutely transcended that at this point in time.“ October 7, 2020 Steve Ahlquist Upriseri.com ONE Neighborhood Builders has achieved its fundraising goal of $200,000 to launch ONE Neighborhood Connects, a mesh WiFi network that will cover five million square feet in Olneyville and provide approximately 4000 neighborhood residents with access to free, high-speed internet. The WiFi mesh will be live…