2000 Best Practice Awards

2000-2155 World of Work Plus (WOW+)

The World of Work Program is a partnership between the Providence Housing Authority, the United States Department of Labor, the Providence/Cranston Job Training Partnership Administration (now the Providence/Cranston Workforce Investment Office), Job Link Inc., a private organization with a 15 year history of developing employment opportunities in Providence’s low income neighborhoods, and the Rhode Island Department of Human Services. World of Work Plus is funded under the U.S. Department of Labor’s Welfare to Work Competitive Grant Program and serves exclusively PHA clients. The Providence Housing Authority is a sub grantee under the DOL program, with a $1,062,000 contract to cover program expenses over 36 months. The role of the Housing Authority is to recruit residents into the program, assign participants a program case manager who assists with enrollment, childcare, transportation and other employment supports, track participant activity weekly and provide work experience placements in the Authority’s own operations and to negotiate work activity placements with neighborhood employers. The Housing Authority also provides adult education and ESL services to residents who require them to obtain and retain employment. The program coordinator, case managers and adult education instructors are all full time housing authority employees funded under our contract for use of the DOL funds. The program began in March 1999, at which time the sub grantees began negotiating their contracts. In June 1999, the Authority established three program offices, one at each of our three largest family developments: Hartford Park, Manton Heights and Chad Brown. Both public housing and Section 8 residents are included in program outreach activities, conducted door-to-door, through direct mail and newsletters and at program information sessions. Our residents can now access at convenient, site based offices: 1. Case management services, including development of a multi-year employment plan and assistance with child care and transportation; 2. Interface with the state TANF agency (Rhode Island Department of Human Services) for formal recognition that their WOW Plus enrollment is their formally approved TANF job readiness activity. (In addition to ensuring coordination of services, this triggers eligibility for a host of TANF funded supports.) At this time, only United States Department of Labor Welfare to Work program providers have articulated a customer service driven enrollment coordination system like this one. 3. A six-week job readiness program. These are held in English and Spanish and are conducted at the public housing sites. 4. A unique opportunity to build a resume and develop a credible reference by completing a community work experience activity in the PHA’s own operations or with a neighborhood employer. To date, participants have taken advantage of the following CWEPs: · Housing Management · Facilities Management · Human Services · Health and Wellness Programs · Geriatric Care · Childcare and Early Childhood Education · Finance and Accounting · Clerical/Secretarial 5. Job placement and retention services 6. Access to up to $750 to support purchases necessary to obtain and retain employment 7. Eligibility for substantial USDOL funding for "post placement training" – including post secondary continuing education – to upgrade skills to ensure continued increases in family income 8. Site based adult education facilities dedicated to meeting the English language fluency education and GED level needs of program participants

2000-412 Citizen Participation Process

Providence, RI designed and implemented an effective system for engaging city residents in the planning and preparation of the city's five year consolidated plan. Several steps were taken: First, the city convened a steering committee of 13 persons to oversee the process. The steering committee membership represented the diversity of Providence’s residents and public interest groups. Members included representatives from a civil rights advocacy group, the Providence Housing Authority, an AIDS action group, a neighborhood non-profit housing corporation, the Enterprise Community office, the Providence Human Relations Commission, a bank, a public service agency providing services for homeless persons, Providence Community Action Program and a public housing tenant. As a second step, the city and the steering committee established an agenda for seven focus groups. Each focus group was formulated around a specific issue. The seven areas were: homeless needs, economic development, special needs housing, neighborhood revitalization, affordable housing, social services and a special session for youth. Fair housing and affirmative action issues were discussed at every meeting. Each group met at a different neighborhood community center; the session for youth was held at a Providence high school - Mt. Pleasant High School. Meetings were advertised in several ways. A notice was prominently displayed on the city’s web page; mailings were made to over 50 interest groups and citizens; notices of meetings were printed in the Providence Journal, in a Spanish newspaper and in an African-American newspaper; and faxes were sent to interested parties shortly before the meetings were held. A Spanish translator attended each meeting. The success of this process can be measured in the increased attendance it generated. While in past years few residents attended citizen participation hearings, more than 10 to 15 routinely attended the focus group sessions. The city estimates that 45 new persons took part in the process. Further, participation was active and substantive.

2000-2595 Rhode Island Fair Housing Youth Outreach & Community Education Project

The Rhode Island Fair Housing Youth Outreach & Community Education Project was a school-based initiative that enlisted the talents of students from Providence area high schools in the creation of posters and the dramatization of the different forms of housing discrimination at a community wide event in South Providence. The winning posters were then displayed on Rhode Island Public Transit Authority buses and a student-produced video of the event was created and distributed to media outlets statewide in a month long promotion of fair housing rights and remedies.

2000-2735 Lead-Safe Rhode Island Campaign

Rhode Island Housing used a $3 million HUD lead hazard reduction grant as the centerpiece of a campaign that raised an additional $4,360,000 in cash and tens of thousands of dollars more in-kind services from nonprofit, municipal, state and federal partners. The additional funding will more than double the number of houses and apartments RI Housing will abate over three years.

2000-1462 Welfare to Work Certification

Working in conjunction with the State of RI Department of Human Services, HUD developed a certification for use by owners, management agents, and residents of HUD-assisted housing to assure the appropriate rental computation exclusion of income earned by residents participating in job training or employment programs.

2000-816 Homeownership Fairs Through Collaborative Community Partnering

Rhode Island Housing is conducting a series of Housing Fairs throughout the State targeted to specific underserved and/or minority populations. The Fairs include on-site pre-qualifications, free credit reports and free credit counseling regarding credit repair. Additionally, translators are on-hand to assist non-English speaking clients. The Fairs focus on pre- and post- homeownership information, rehabilitation programs and equity conversion programs for current homeowners, emphasizing the acquisition for first time homebuyers as well the sustainability of the community.

2000-1413 Shore Courts, Inc

Shore Courts is an 11 unit Section 811 project under development in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. The project is designed to serve the chronically mentally ill. HUD worked closely with the project sponsor and the sponsor's consultant to approve the construction of an additional unit utilizing alternative funding sources outside of the Section 811 Program. Specifically, HUD HOME Funds, State of Rhode Island Thresholds Funds and Sponsor Funds were utilized to finance the construction of the additional unit and will be used to fund the operating costs associated with the additional unit. The use of these additional funding sources will allow an additional resident to be housed with no additional cost to the Section 811 program.

2000-2209 PHA Volunteers In Action (VIA)

In response to HUD's recent recommendations concerning resident community service, the Providence Housing Authority approached the "Volunteer Center of Rhode Island" with a proposal to collaborate on an initiative to increase resident involvement in their communities. The PHA's "Volunteers in Action" (VIA) was launched in January 1999 and provides opportunities for public housing resident youth and parents to participate in a variety of monthly community service projects. Adult residents wishing to enroll their children in the PHA's already established after-school "Youth Program" are required to volunteer four (4) hours a month assisting program staff. The PHA's "Volunteer Coordinator", trained and supported by the "Volunteer Center", conducts a parent volunteer orientation, twice a year, before the start of programming. Volunteer duties may include direct supervision of youth program participants, community outreach, helping with special events or clerical assistance. The VC recruits and schedules parent volunteers and provides the necessary tracking and support services. Outstanding volunteers are recognized for their service at the end of the programming year. For resident youth, the PHA and the "Volunteer Center" sponsors a "Youth Service Council" (YSC). Established in October 1999, the YSC is made up of four (4) teens from each development. Under the supervision of the PHA's "Volunteer Coordinator", YSC members meet weekly to develop and implement meaningful service projects, first in their own communities and, eventually, throughout the state. YSC members recruit other youth participants from their individual developments to assist with planned projects. The YSC gives public housing teens an opportunity to meet and interact with teens from other communities and backgrounds. YSC members develop valuable leadership skills.

2000-121 Help at Home

The Coventry Housing Authority recognized a need for a wide and deep range of social services and supports to be provided to elderly residents to prolong their ability to live independently. Through the Help at Home Program we are now providing the services of "Assisted Living" to our residents in their own homes! No need to move to another facility! Services include the provision of three meals a day, medication monitoring, Wellness and health intervention and education, support, personal care assistance, transportation, day care, friendly visitor, case management, and a caregiver support group. Provision of service is made after a thorough assessment is performed. The completion of the assessment generates an individual service plan for each resident participant. This is being provided by a small housing authority (195 units) with a budget for this program of only $23,000.00.

2000-1792 Census Outreach

The Rhode Island State Office (RISO) conducted outreach and education to improve participation in the Census, and to promote job opportunities for that effort among low-to-moderate income individuals. RISO provided educational materials and information at local Housing Fairs and forums at public high schools. RISO worked with public housing authorities and affordable housing management offices to distribute materials and assist the Census Bureau in collecting information and hiring residents.

2000-66 Performance Formula Funding for Housing Non-Profit Corporations

Providence for many years has provided CDBG funds to several non-profit housing corporations for the purpose of producing affordable housing. For the most part, funding was annually allocated to the non-profits regardless of the organizations' actual production of housing. HUD and Providence officials mutually acknowledged the need to modify this system so that those non-profits that were producing more housing would receive funds commensurate with their performance, while those producing fewer units would receive a lesser amount. Members of the Providence City Council's Urban Renewal, Redevelopment and Planning Committee (URRP) together with key staff from the city's Department of Planning and Development (DPD) and representatives from the recipient housing corporations formed a working group to collaboratively address this issue. The working group formulated eight performance categories, each of which was assigned a separate weight. For example, the lightest weight of 0.2 was assigned to the expenditure of $1 to $5,000 for the rehabilitation of existing and occupied units. The heaviest weight, 1.0, was assigned to the expenditure of more than $15,000 per unit for the rehabilitation of a vacant property or for new construction. The next issue tackled by the working group was designing a system that would not be unnecessarily disruptive to the non-profits' annual budgets. The group determined that it was important that funding not be predicated on the basis of a brief "snap shot" of activity. Accordingly, a rolling three years of production would be used to measure performance. Each year, when the most recently completed year's activity was assessed, the oldest of the three years would be dropped from the system. In order to assure a smooth transition to the new system, the working group formulated a phase-in period that would provide an opportunity to the non-profits to increase production before losing their funding. Providence officials agreed upon a three year period before full performance-based funding would be implemented: for the program year 1999 to 2000, 20% of an organization's funding would be formula-based; in program year 2000 to 2001, 40% would be based on performance; for 2001 to 2002, 60% would be performance-based; and, after that, 100% of a non-profit's funding would be based on past performance.

2000-1218 Lockwood Plaza

Lockwood Plaza Apartments is a 209 unit scattered site development located in Providence, Rhode Island. Principals and affiliates of the owning entity were indicted for regulatory agreement violations involving the misuse of project operating funds. Consequently, a receiver was appointed to manage the day-to-day operation of the project. Ultimately, the mortgage was accelerated and assigned to HUD. A foreclosure recommendation was made by the Program Center Director The project is a critical low-income housing resource in the community. Accordingly, its preservation as affordable housing was a critical concern in developing the disposition strategy. The Program Center Director worked closely with the Community Builder to assess community needs relative to housing in the subject project's immediate area. A disposition strategy calling for a competitive Request for Proposal (RFP) was developed. Specifically, the strategy called for HUD to acquire the property and transfer it to a Right of First Refusal Entity who would then transfer it to a local non-profit. Ultimately, the property was acquired by HUD and the Providence Housing Authority (PHA) offered to purchase the development. The PHA will form a nonprofit housing corporation to own and operate the property. The PHA will bear the cost of all required repairs and the project will be maintained as affordable housing for 20 years.

2000-2094 PASSAGES:GED-Literacy & Computer Training

With the GED & Literacy program, participants are involved in Public Broadcasting GED instruction. Students are required to prepare for the high school equivalency examination which consists of a five part test( English Grammar/Written Expression); Social Studies, Science, Reading Comprehension, and Mathematics) and requires that students prepare with self-study, formal instruction, or GED on TV. After careful monitoring, when the GED instructor feels the participants are ready to take the statewide test, the instructor accompanies the student to the location. The instructor also provides one on one literacy instruction to participants who are struggling with reading or writing skills. Mr. Jack Kelly provides computer instruction at various levels of learning. For the beginner, general knowledge of a computer and its components taught along with some basic computer software instruction. The participants are educated on numerous programs which include Microsoft Word, Printshop, and basic Internet skills. The advanced learner is taught how to create a database or spreadsheet, and expanded Internet and e-mail access. The computer classes are available to all program participants and are held at numerous times throughout the year. Attendees of the computer training include Family Self Sufficiency Participants, and residents living in our elderly complexes. An incentive that we provide to participants is free child care while the parents are in class. Lack of affordable child care hinders participation, and our goal is to provide the services necessary to get people actively involved. We offer both programs, GED & Computer Training, in our Career & Job Training Center located on-site at the Housing Authority.

2000-2594 Bank Lincs

Bank Lincs encourages homeownership in the city of Providence, the state’s capital, and extends homeownership opportunities to low-income first-time home buyers, particularly members of federally recognized minority groups purchasing homes in traditionally majority neighborhoods. The program addresses Fair Housing issues, creates new homeownership opportunities and empowers low-income and minority first-time home buyers by offering housing choices not traditionally available to them. The program is a public/private partnership among FHA, a community-based nonprofit group, the city, the state’s two largest banks, PMI Mortgage Insurance Company and the Rhode Island Housing and Mortgage Finance Corporation. Bank Lincs targets first-time buyers earning no more than 80 percent of median household income buying homes in Providence. Down payment and closing cost assistance is available from a $1 million pool (Pool) funded by the city, Fleet Bank and Citizens Bank. They also contributed $100,000 in Foreclosure Prevention funds. RI Housing provides below-market-rate first mortgages and gap financing in the form of deferred-payment second mortgages up to 10 percent of the purchase price and grants up to $1,000. The "silent" second mortgages help lower-income borrowers qualify for first mortgages by effectively lowering the amount of first mortgage debt that must be amortized. FHA and PMI insure the mortgages. Project Basic, a nonprofit community housing agency, assists with outreach to traditionally under-served populations. Buyers must contribute the greater of $1,000 or 1.5 percent of the purchase price from their own saved funds. To cover the balance of the down payment and closing costs, the Pool lends buyers up to $5,000 at 5.5 percent interest with a 5-to-15-year term, depending on the amount borrowed. Bank Lincs reduces the down payment requirement of the first-time buyer, recognizes nontraditional credit for those with little or no credit history and allows more flexible underwriting ratios (35/40) than traditional mortgage programs. A Housing Integration Set Aside earmarks 30 percent of the Pool funds for members of federally recognized minority groups -- Blacks (Non-Hispanic), Hispanic, Alaskan Indian/Native American and Asian/Pacific Islander -- buying homes outside "areas of minority concentration," those Providence neighborhoods where minorities are in the majority. The goal is to make homeownership opportunities available to members of federally recognized minority groups in traditionally majority neighborhoods. Bank Lincs includes a unique Foreclosure Prevention Plan. The city provides face-to-face pre-application counseling. All applicants must complete 3-1/2 hours of home-buyer education prior to closing. In addition, multifamily buyers must complete three hours of landlord training. RI Housing administers the loan pool, services all loans and generates monthly statistical reports. RI Housing intervenes when loans are 18 days delinquent. Consumer credit counseling is mandatory. A Lenders Committee comprised of Bank Lincs partners reviews all delinquent loans and may allocate up to $2,000 in Foreclosure Prevention funds to help borrowers weather temporary financial hardship. The terms of the assistance -- grant or loan -- are based on the borrower’s need and capacity for repayment.

2000-2507 Resident Service Coordinator Conference

Sharon Keefe, Associate Community Builder in the RI State HUD Office, participates as a team member of a local Resident Service Coordinators Coalition, an organization incorporated to serve the supportive service needs of HUD assisted and public housing residents. Each year the coalition provides training to recertify and certify Resident Service Coordinators. Due to Sharon Keefe's participation in the coalition, this year's training will be held at the RI State HUD Office. Local Housing, Public Housing and Community Builder staff will participate in the training to highlight several current HUD supportive service and supportive housing initiatives (eg, Vouchers with Assisted Living, 202 Conversion Grants, Neighborhood Networks, Campus of Learners, etc.) Hosting this year's training session at the local HUD office enhances our ability to participate more fully in the important work of the coalition and will serve as an effective forum to promote current HUD programs.

2000-2627 Paul W. Holbrook Fellowship Program

The Paul W. Holbrook Fellowship Program gave undergraduate and graduate school students the opportunity for a paid internships in a program designed to eradicate internal backlog and reduce the average processing time for charges of housing discrimination. Outreach and educational activities for the participants were introduced.

2000-1953 Providence Fair Housing Forums

For the past decade the Providence Human Relation Commission (PHRC) has conducted Fair Housing Forums during April for Fair Housing Month. PHRC staff solicit representatives from the housing industry and the community together to provide Fair Housing presentations to senior high school students at several high schools in the city of Providence. The goal is to educate students about fair housing and other housing related issues in hopes that they will share the information with their peers and families. After the presenters provide the information there is a question and answer period where students get the opportunity to pose questions and share feedback discussion.

2000-1550 Maple Meadows Mobile Home Tenant Purchase

In late 1997, the 63 tenants of Maple Meadows Mobile Home Park in Pawtucket, Rhode Island learned that the out-of-state owner of the park was about to sell the property. The tenants of the park, fearing displacement as a result of rent increases by a new owner, organized themselves to explore the possibility of buying the 3.5-acre property. Working with the Pawtucket Department of Planning and Redevelopment and the Rhode Island Housing and Mortgage Finance Corp., the tenant association crafted a plan using public and private funds to match the offer received by the owner. In March 1998, using a combination of resources the Maple Meadows Tenant Association was able to acquire the mobile home park and transform themselves from tenants to home owners of the property where they live.

Content Archived: April 20, 2011