Four residents of Central Providence were recognized for their leadership within the community, notably through their participation with Central Providence Opportunities Health Equity Zone (CPO-HEZ)’s Nine Neighborhood Fund participatory budgeting initiative.
This month’s Fresh Friday featured a group of panelists discussing the important topic of adaptive reuse and affordable housing development. Throughout New England and the US, there are publicly- and privately-owned buildings that no longer serve their original use – mills, churches, school buildings, and much more. As communities work to address the housing crisis, they are increasingly looking to these existing assets as potential affordable housing.
By Build Healthy Places Staff November 20, 2024 – Build Healthy Places Network (BHPN), a program of the Public Health Institute is thrilled to announce the five awardees of the Community Innovations for Racial Equity (CIRE) initiative, a program aimed at tackling structural racism and health inequities in disinvested communities. Supported by a generous grant from The Kresge Foundation, these five community development organizations, led by and serving Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities, have demonstrated a strong commitment to community-led strategies and racial equity. Each organization will receive a $50,000 grant. The awardees are: Beyond Housing in St. Louis, MO: Beyond…
By Will Richmond “The Providence Journal and United Way of Rhode Island have partnered to highlight the state’s nonprofits. Each week, a nonprofit identified by the United Way will be spotlighted in the Providence Sunday Journal, and the United Way will share how they support that organization. This week, we feature One Neighborhood Builders, which develops “affordable housing and engages neighbors across Greater Providence to cultivate safe, healthy, and vibrant communities.” We asked Vice President of Resource Development & Communications Kyle McKendall to tell us more about the organization. What is One Neighborhood Builders’ mission and vision? As a nonprofit community…
By Jusolyn Flower, Published November 14, 2024 “PAWTUCKET, R.I. (WPRI) — Rhode Island officials announced additional grant funding Thursday to support infrastructure improvements for affordable housing projects statewide. The Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank and Department of Housing awarded $2.8 million to five communities as part of efforts to tackle the ongoing housing crisis. “Developing housing projects often requires upgrades to municipal infrastructure, including site preparation, stormwater management, sidewalks, and wastewater utilities,” William Fazioli, Executive Director of R.I. Infrastructure Bank, said. […] East Providence received $480,000 to support the Center City Apartments, which will transform three blighted acres into…
This month’s Fresh Friday session brought together a panel of experts to discuss the critical topic of accessibility and inclusion in community engagement with a specific focus on disability justice and multilingual spaces in community meetings
C+J Rentals started with a straightforward goal: to provide rentals for small parties. Founded by father Mynor Quiñonez and sons Jeffrey Quiñonez, Christian Quiñonez and Danilo Quiñonez, the business began with a few basic party items, but quickly grew as they served more clients. As the business expanded, Danilo, Jeffrey, and Christian faced the challenge of keeping up with demand and navigating the complex world of loan and grant opportunities. Many funding options were tangled in red tape, making it tough for small businesses to get the help they needed. Enter the Central Providence Community Loan Fund. Unlike other funding…
By Wheeler Cowperthwaite, Published September 26, 2024 “PROVIDENCE – Jennifer Hawkins stands on King Street in Providence. To one side are a series of income-restricted housing units her organization built, King Street Commons, a result of a new direction she took. To the other side is a former factory that, around the same time, was turned into apartments. When Hawkins started as the CEO of One Neighborhood Builders in 2017, she reoriented the nonprofit, especially to focus on building apartments at single sites, rather than the previous tactic of scattered buildings in a neighborhood. The King Street development was one of the first…
This weeks Fresh Friday outlines the current landscape and challenges of the housing and homelessness crisis. Our panelist discuss policy, data collection and collaboration within housing and homeless systems
By Ian Donnis, Published September 3, 2024 “Standing on Broad Street in Cumberland, Jennifer Hawkins looks up at the former St. Patrick’s Church. Hawkins leads the nonprofit developer ONE Neighborhood Builders, which is renovating the vacant church building and turning it into housing. ONE Neighborhood Builders originally planned to build 44 low- and moderate-income apartments, but that number has increased thanks to a state law that took effect at the start of this year that lowered the number of parking spaces required for a project of this size. Plans for the development, known as Steeple and Stone, initially called…