PROVIDENCE, RI— June 21, 2021 — The Central Providence Health Equity Zone (CP-HEZ), convened by ONE Neighborhood Builders, is pleased to announce the award of $399,085 in grants to 16 community-based organizations that are working to improve economic opportunity and health equity for Central Providence residents.
The grants provide up to $35,000 per project for a wide range of initiatives that help residents learn new work skills, offer civic education and leadership training, and tutor and mentor at least 600 students. The CP-HEZ consists of more than a dozen partner organizations, which are charged with developing and implementing a collective impact plan to address root causes of health disparities and promote economic opportunity. The grant-funded projects to support this economic and health equity work will begin on July 1 and are to be completed by June 30, 2022.
The grants are supported by a blend of funding that ONE Neighborhood Builders has raised from Blue Meridian Partners (through Central Providence Opportunities), the Rhode Island Foundation’s Fund for Healthy Rhode Islanders, and the Rhode Island Department of Health.
“As more residents of Central Providence become fully vaccinated, it’s vital that they have access to supports that address the economic toll COVID-19 has had on so many families,” said Dominique Resendes, the Central Providence Health Equity Zone Program Manager at ONE Neighborhood Builders. “We understand that 80% of a person’s health outcomes are connected to social determinants of health, and a person’s economic situation is among the most crucial determinants. That’s why we have focused on funding projects to enhance the economic mobility of Central Providence residents.”
Economic mobility is the likelihood that children achieve a higher standard of living than the household in which they were born. Enhancing the economic mobility of Central Providence
residents is the core focus of Central Providence Opportunities, an $8 million initiative that ONE Neighborhood Builders also convenes. As the “backbone” for both Central Providence Opportunities and the CP-HEZ, ONE|NB provides the necessary infrastructure to support the collective impact approach.
In this latest round of funding, the following recipients are expected to do the following:
Building Futures
The money will support the Economic Recovery through Registered Apprenticeship program, with a focus on opportunities for Community Health Workers and Peer Recovery Specialists and training and technical assistance for health and human services employers.
Community Action Partnership of Providence
The funds will support the Parent Leadership Team Institute, which provides civic education and leadership training for 30 parents per cohort, and will provide healthy meals during the training sessions and activity baskets for children.
Federal Hill House
The money will support Federal Hill House in opening its child care center to eight infants; offering scholarships to families who don’t qualify for state child care subsidies but still need financial support; improving its infant classroom; and supporting an Education Coordinator, who will lead efforts to provide teacher coaching and high-quality educational materials and curriculum.
Garden Time
The money will support a pilot job-training program in tree services for 10 formerly incarcerated individuals from the 02908 and 02909 ZIP codes, while increasing the tree canopy in Silver Lake.
Manton Avenue Project
The money will support in-person and online creative programming at no cost for children ages 8 to 18 (third grade through high school) and opportunities for paid internships/apprenticeships for teenagers.
Project Weber/RENEW
The funding will provide legal and wellness support for Central Providence residents via the organization’s Olneyville office to help those who have been involved with the justice system find and maintain employment.
Providence Housing Authority
The money will support the Hartford Park Economic Self-Sufficiency Coordination program to hire a Service Coordinator, who would assist with financial stabilization and employment programming for residents of the Housing Authority’s Hartford Park housing development.
Providence Public Library
The money will support the hosting of a weekly Learning Lounge, on-demand digital navigation sessions, and basic computer literacy classes and English as a Second Language classes to prepare residents of Central Providence with the necessary skills for job searches and the workforce.
Refugee Dream Center
The funds will provide referral services via case management to 175 refugee families in the 02908 and 02909 ZIP codes to promote health equity by increasing access to such services.
Social Enterprise Greenhouse
The money will support continuing to build partnerships, provide business support to Central Providence residents through the business support center in the 222 Manton Avenue space, and hire a local program coordinator to better support residents who are starting their own businesses.
The Steel Yard
Building off of a one-year pilot project, this funding will provide a training program for metalwork and three-month paid apprenticeships as The Steel Yard trains up to eight participants.
Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council
Through the Investing in Future Leaders program, this funding would provide workforce training; in-school and after-school programming; community building; green infrastructure; resident leadership; and environmental advocacy to Central Providence residents.
YWCA
This funding would continue a one-year project to introduce girls to the computer science pipeline through learning circles, mentoring, and after-school and summer programming, with a goal of bringing more young women into the computer science field.
Inspiring Minds
With this funding, the entity’s Volunteer Coordinator would work with volunteers to provide tutoring and mentoring to at least 600 students in the Central Providence Health Equity Zone and to offer workshops for parents of Providence Public School students.
Smith Hill Advocacy and Resource Partnerships
This funding will support the organization’s community building and educational support programs for families in the Smith Hill neighborhood and will provide supports to the schools in this neighborhood.
PVD Things
This money will support the organization’s tool-lending library, which allows residents to rent out tools, home repair equipment, and other recreational items via a membership fee so they have the equipment to maintain safe and secure housing.
ABOUT ONE NEIGHBORHOOD BUILDERS:
ONE Neighborhood Builders (ONE|NB) is a nonprofit community development leader in Rhode Island that is expanding its work to the broader Greater Providence area while maintaining its deep roots in its historic home of Olneyville. ONE|NB’s mission is to develop affordable housing and engage neighbors to cultivate healthy, vibrant, and safe communities. Since its founding in 1988, then as Olneyville Housing Corporation, ONE|NB has developed 482 affordable apartments; 130 for-sale homes for low- to moderate-income homebuyers; and nearly 34,000 square feet of commercial and community space—totaling more than $128 million of investments. ONE|NB created the first free community wireless network in Rhode Island; is the convenor of the Central Providence Health Equity Zone, which brings together residents, community organizations, health professionals, and others to address root causes of health disparities; and is the backbone organization of Central Providence Opportunities, an $8 million initiative to increase economic mobility for residents in Central Providence.
