It Takes All Of Us

11.02.2024 — LISC Stories

You’ve heard us say, “It’s not one of us, it’s all of us,” but never was that more evident than when looking at the sheer number of ribbon cuttings this fall! From the outdoor gym in Central Falls to the new and improved child care facilities at the Newport YMCA, it is clear that community development success relies on the hard work done by so many. We are enormously grateful for the committed, mission-driven, effective partners that work together to deliver impact for our neighbors. The amount of work done by these community leaders is truly impressive – and it’s a good reminder that when we all work together, we can achieve tremendous results.

This year has been dramatic. Together, we’ve made progress on so many fronts – from housing to workforce development, to improving and creating child care opportunities, and advancing health equity. If we look back on where we were last year, it’s easy to see the incredible momentum.

In housing, it’s a dramatically increased pipeline, made possible in part by grant funding to LISC from Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Foundation, Rhode Island Housing, BankNewport and others. This local funding has had a catalytic effect that went well beyond our expectations and allowed us to leverage significant federal funding and LISC national investment. In the past 18 months, we have invested more than $110 million in housing and community space. We’re grateful to our partners at LISC affiliate National Equity Fund (NEF), who work with us to bring significant investment funding to Rhode Island.

Likewise for workforce development. LISC works with the Rhode Island Department of Human Services to administer the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Employment & Training, which offers free jobs skills training and education for SNAP participants — and the results have been life changing. During this past year, additional workforce training providers have joined the program, and the number of participants has increased by more than 30%. It’s important to take a minute to really appreciate that having a good job is not only transformative for the individual, but also for their family and their community. 

Our work in the Pawtucket Central Falls Health Equity Zone has manifested some important changes. We delivered a pilot program to ask residents how they would spend $385,000 to improve the health and well-being of residents in the community. The process resulted in more than 800 ideas, 11 potential plans and 2 weeks of community voting. In the end, the community will get a new splash pad, playground and exercise equipment, and a “Mental Health IS Health” campaign to combat the stigma associated with getting mental health treatment. Our HEZ team, working with community-led task forces, has been revolutionizing the way communities address health equity, with positive results.

And LISC’s child care team has been working with both center-based and home-based child care providers to provide technical assistance and grant funding to support expansion and improvements to child care facilities across the state. After a bond was passed in March 2021 to approve funding for child care facilities, and additional funds from the City of Providence were allocated for child care, LISC has worked to provide highly specialized technical assistance and deploy that funding. After 18 months of work, we are starting to celebrate that investment with a full schedule of ribbon cuttings.

This place-based, cooperative approach to problem solving is what we do best in Rhode Island, and it’s through working together with great partners that leads to meaningful change. To get this level of positive momentum, it’s clear that It Takes All of Us - #ITAOU, and we are very grateful for all the work done by so many.

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If you're interested in joining us on this journey, there are several ways to do so. The GiveLively online platform below is an easy way to ensure funds are dedicated to Rhode Island. If you are looking for additional ways, please reach out to eklinkenberg @ lisc.org for more information.

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