FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 16, 2023
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Virtual session will include models of Shared Equity in housing, including community land trusts, deed restrictions, limited equity cooperatives, and resident-owned communities.
PROVIDENCE, RI – Jenee Gaynor, the Director of Shared Equity Housing for NeighborWorks America, will join a panel of Rhode Island housing leaders at ONE Neighborhood Builders’ (ONE|NB) Fresh Friday virtual event tomorrow morning. ONE|NB, one of Rhode Island’s leading community development corporations, hosts a monthly forum for practitioners, community members, and experts to explore topics related to community development. Tomorrow’s forum will begin at 8:45am.
“Shared equity housing is a proven strategy to promote homeownership and create community wealth and few people understand the intricacies of shared equity housing better than Jenee Gaynor,” said Jennifer Hawkins, President and Executive Director, ONE|NB. “Our Fresh Friday series has become a ‘must-attend’ monthly event for the state’s housing and community development advocates and policy leaders. I’m hopeful that tomorrow’s discussion will spark additional focus on pathways to establish more shared equity housing in the Ocean State.”
Tomorrow’s discussion will be moderated by Grace Evans, ONE|NB’s Chief of Staff.
Panelists include:
- Aubrey Collins, homeownership program director at Church Community Housing Corporation in Newport
- Nora Gosselin, Market Development and Acquisition Specialist for New England Resident Owned Communities at the Cooperative Development Institute
- Jenee Gaynor, the Director of Shared Equity Housing for NeighborWorks America,
- Belinda Phillippe, Director of Operations and Community Building at ONE Neighborhood Builders
According to NeighborWorks America, shared equity housing creates lasting affordability, builds wealth for people with limited incomes and helps create vibrant and inclusive communities. Shared equity programs typically realize these outcomes by limiting the sale or rental price of homes in their portfolios; requiring the sharing of home appreciation gains; and providing homeownership assistance to program residents.
Residents and community members often participate in governing shared equity programs through democratic decision-making and/or a cooperative ownership structure.
NeighborWorks America received a total of $3 million in appropriations from Congress in 2019 and 2020 to support the promotion and development of shared equity housing models.
Registration for all Fresh Friday events is free and open to the public.
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 466 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 $135 million of investments. ONE|NB is the convening entity of Central Providence Opportunities: A Health Equity Zone, which brings together residents, more than five dozen community-based organizations, health professionals, local businesses, elected officials, and others to address root causes of health disparities and to improve neighborhood conditions. As the convener, ONE|NB is the backbone organization of this collective-impact initiative to increase economic mobility for residents in Central Providence. ONE|NB also created the first free community wireless network in Rhode Island, providing high-speed broadband to nearly 3000 unique users in the Olneyville neighborhood.
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Media Contact (for ONENeighborhood Builders)
Mike Raia, Half Street Strategic Consulting
401-340-9425 | mikeraia@nullhalfstreetconsulting.com
