News Coverage

Jennifer Hawkins, executive director of ONE Neighborhood Builders, spoke to Maren Machles with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance about ONE|NB Connects, the free community WiFi network that ONE|NB has developed in Olneyville.  Community Networks is a project of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Thursday, April 15, 2021 | Posted by Maren Machles While the day after Turkey Day is one of carb hangovers and movie marathons for many Americans across the country, on that cold day in November 2020, for the Providence, Rhode Island-based nonprofit One Neighborhood Builders (ONB), it was a day of celebration. A seven-car parade rounded the…

By Mary MacDonald Published April 15, 2021, 10:20 p.m. Providence Business News Caption: A DESIGN RENDERING of the two-building Sutton Place apartment development in East Providence, which will be renovated and deed-restricted to be leased at affordable rates. / COURTESY ED WOJCIK ARCHITECT LTD. EAST PROVIDENCE – ONE Neighborhood Builders, a Providence-based community development nonprofit, has purchased a 36-unit apartment complex in East Providence for $3.3 million, the organization announced recently. It plans to renovate the units and create deed-restricted affordable housing at the site, called Sutton Place. The property at 54 and 60 Sutton Ave. in East Providence consists of two identical buildings….

By Domenic Delmonico and Jennifer Hawkins Published April 12, 2021, 5:50 p.m. The Providence Journal Domenic Delmonico is the executive director of Rhode Island Medicaid at Tufts Health Plan. Jennifer Hawkins is the executive director of ONE Neighborhood Builders. Voters across Rhode Island signaled their support for producing more affordable homes by approving the $65-million housing bond during the March 2 special election. This is an important win, but it is not a long-term, fix-all solution to address the state’s urgent housing crisis. Rather, it is an important first step and we need to build off this momentum. Rhode Island’s…

Lynn Arditi, Health Reporter The Public’s Radio The Public’s Radio · A mobile trailer delivers COVID-19 vaccine registration in Providence RI A gas generator makes an unholy roar outside St. Bartholomew’s Church in the city’s Silver Lake section where a shiny white trailer is parked. Inside the trailer on this chilly March afternoon it’s warm and filled with light. Two healthcare workers are seated at a long folding table behind plexiglass dividers, working on laptops. Their cushioned benches double as storage space. “We’re able to store items here, as the vehicle moves, so things are not sliding, left and right,’’…

Get to know Jennifer Hawkins of ONE Neighborhood Builders Your name: Jennifer Hawkins, Executive Director Nonprofit name: ONE Neighborhood Builders Website: https://oneneighborhoodbuilders.org/ Blog: https://oneneighborhoodbuilders.org/blog/ Twitter: @1_neighborhood Facebook: @ONENeighborhoodBuilders Instagram: one_neighborhoodbuilders  1. Tell us about your nonprofit’s mission.  ONE Neighborhood Builders has a mission to develop affordable housing and engage neighbors across Greater Providence to cultivate healthy, vibrant, and safe communities. 2. Is there a story behind your organization’s name?  In 2015, Olneyville Housing Corporation and Community Works Rhode Island merged together, and the newly-resulting organization was named ONE Neighborhood Builders. 3. How long has One Neighborhood Builders been operating…

Guest post by Madelyn Lazorchak, Communications Writer, NeighborWorks America   In November, just before Thanksgiving, ONE Neighborhood Builders paraded through the streets of their community with an announcement, posted on signs and shouted from the back of a truck. “Free WiFi,” they said. And then in Spanish, “Gratis WiFi.” The announcement was for the community’s new WiFi network, providing about 3,000 households in the Olneyville neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island, with free high-speed internet. Almost immediately, Mirza Portillo’s sons, Diego, 8, and Dylan, 11, were using that WiFi to connect to school, where officials instituted distance learning starting last March….

Funding is part of join community investment by Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare Foundation and Tufts Health Plan Foundation ONE Neighborhood Builders (ONE|NB) has announced that, in their first joint community investment, the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation and Tufts Health Plan Foundation are giving $1 million to 42 organizations across the region to expand vaccine education, awareness, and outreach in communities of color. ONE|NB has received a grant of $20,000 to promote vaccination efforts in underserved populations in the 02908 and 02909 areas. Nine Rhode Island organizations will receive a total of $175,000 in funding. Just one month after Harvard Pilgrim…

“In 2021 I intend to not stay in my lane and to push boundaries,” proclaims Jennifer Hawkins. She’s got a head start on that New Year’s resolution. Last year, ONE Neighborhood Builders (ONB) – formerly known as Olneyville Housing Corporation for you “Take a left where the Almacs used to be” types – made a play into the 195 land. Their proposal for a 58-unit apartment building with a ground-floor childcare center won widespread acclaim, but was unfortunately not pushed forward by the 195 Commission. Hawkins, the executive director, remains undaunted. “Our proposal generated a lot of attention and I…

Jennifer Hawkins, the executive director of ONE Neighborhood Builders, a community-development organization in Providence, spoke to Providence Business News recently about the Central Providence Opportunities initiative. Announced in December, the initiative will focus on investments in two ZIP codes of Providence and is funded by an $8 million grant provided by Blue Meridian Partners, a philanthropic organization. A 17-member resident advisory council will help shape the direction of the grant investments. PBN: What is the Central Providence Opportunities initiative? HAWKINS: Central Providence Opportunities is a partnership that pulls together ONE Neighborhood Builders to serve as the community backbone and project [manager], the...

Governor Gina M. Raimondo today announced that Rhode Island has been awarded an $8 million, 24-month grant to implement Central Providence Opportunities – a place-based initiative to increase social and economic mobility for residents of the 02908 and 02909 zip codes, and then scale these strategies statewide. The pilot initiative, set to commence next month, brings together the Governor’s office, state agencies, the Rhode Island Foundation, and ONE Neighborhood Builders. Governor Raimondo was joined by community partners at a Facebook Live event to launch this initiative. The video can be viewed here: facebook.com/GinaMRaimondo. “This initiative is a critical step in building a stronger,…