Burnside Avenue House To Be Refurbished For Nine Homeless Men

Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, Representative David Cicilline, Mayor Leo Fontaine, NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley (NWBRV), Rhode Island Housing attended a ceremonial groundbreaking Tuesday morning for a $1.9 million project that will provide new homes for nine formerly homeless men.

The new homes will include key human and social services coordinated by Woonsocket-based (FRCA).

“Redeveloping distressed properties and turning them into affordable rental housing is a smart investment in strengthening our communities, putting more people back to work, and bolstering the economy,” said Reed, who introduced the Project Rebuild Act earlier this year to provide $15 billion in targeted assistance to renovate vacant residential and commercial properties and help communities recover from the foreclosure crisis.

“These new houses will give struggling Rhode Islanders a place to call home, and will provide access to the support and services they need to enter the workforce,” said U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse. “I’m proud to continue standing with Senator Reed and Rhode Island Housing to work toward ending homelessness in our state.”

Located at 96 Burnside Ave., Woonsocket, NWBRV demolished the smaller of two properties on the site and is rehabilitating the larger one to provide nine one-bedroom homes for homeless and disabled men. The project is expected to be complete this winter, and ready for residents to move in by Spring 2013.

Upon project completion this winter, the property will be transferred to FRCA, which will provide a case manager on-site who will provide supportive services such as counseling, job training and basic needs. Residents will also have access to a 24-hour emergency phone number for assistance. The homes will be ready for occupancy by spring 2013.

“I was proud to take part in today’s groundbreaking and to support a project that will not only create jobs in Rhode Island but also ensure that some of our most vulnerable citizens will have access to quality, affordable housing,” said Cicilline.

“These apartments will help to address some of the housing and homelessness pressure that has arisen in the city due to the prolonged economic recession. For many reasons, the city prefers to see people sheltered in a structured environment, with access to key social services, rather than forced to live outdoors with no place to turn for a helping hand. I am grateful to all the partnership agencies participating in this program for their attentive and creative thinking about this issue,” said Fontaine.

The targeted population for this development is households whose incomes are at 40 percent of area median income (nearly $21,200 per year) and men transitioning from temporary homeless shelters into permanent supportive homes. Neighborhood Opportunities Program (NOP) funds have been awarded to this development.

“The Burnside Ave. project represents a significant step forward in providing permanent supportive housing for homeless men in Woonsocket. We are particularly appreciative of the collaboration with NeighborWorks, Rhode Island Housing, local clergy and the City of Woonsocket culminating in the creation of this resource. The project brings much needed economic and social well being benefits to the community,” said Ben Lessing, Executive Director of Family Resources Community Action.

Family Resources Community Action has partnered with faith-based organizations and human service agencies to develop a comprehensive set of supports for the formerly chronically homeless individuals who will live in these new homes. Most program participants will be making the transition from the Harvest Community Church Shelter. Several churches in the area will be providing start-up supplies and mentoring as well.

“Projects like this one might never get off the ground without the type of critical  pre-development funding first money in that was provided by (R.I.’s Local Initiative Support Corporation) LISC. Building strong neighborhoods and healthy communities is what we are all about," said Jeanne Cola, Executive Director of RI LISC.

The Rhode Island-based contractor Nationwide Construction of Woonsocket created jobs and used 16 sub-contractors for the project. Two additional local jobs were created from the rehabilitation of a distressed building for services to the new tenants.

The project was made possible via funding from the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD), Rhode Island Housing, R.I. Housing Resources Commission, R.I. Local Initiatives Support Corporation, City of Woonsocket and Corporation for Supportive Housing:

HUD Supportive Housing Program: $258,000                               

HUD Neighborhood Stabilization Program: $620,000

HUD State HOME Program $140,000

RI Housing Resources Commission Building Homes (2006 Bond)

$360,000                       

City of Woonsocket HOME Program (A HUD Program): $76,000

NOP Program (RI Housing Funding): $450,000

“This project represents the state’s vision to move from a state of shelter to a state of housing. The partnership between Harvest Community Church, Family Resources and NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley was established strategically to address the lack of permanent affordable housing with supportive services to end the cycle of homelessness in Woonsocket,” said Michelle Brophy, Director of New England Program, Corporation for Supportive Housing/Interagency Council on Homelessness.