Artists Wanted – HousEART Goes Statewide

Smith Hill CDC is proud to support the continued extension of HousEART throughout the State of Rhode Island.  HousEART began on Smith Hill as a CVC initiative and local artist, Lydia Stein, has taken the reigns and grown the program for the past two years!

For the thrdr summer in a row, the HousEART Project will be producing large-scale, high quality temporary art on foreclosed homes. This year HousEART will extend beyond Providence to include neighborhoods in other parts of Rhode Island. We are hoping to produce ten HousEART projects in a short time this summer, and are looking for artists to direct each of the HousEART artworks.

*Artists will receive a $400 stipend

*An entire house slated for rehab or demolition will be your canvas. Many of the properties have boarded windows, to create a very big surface. Painting, sculpting, stencils, postering—anything goes!

*Teens from the neighborhood of the respective HousEART projects will be recruited to assist the artists for a $150 stipend. Each artist will work with 1-2 teen assistants.

*Artworks are restricted to imagery without text. Supplies will be acquired inexpensively or by donation. This is an exciting opportunity to create artwork in a very large, public forum on a temporary surface. While HousEART offers near-complete artistic liberty to participating artists, they are encouraged to consider the temporary nature of the HousEART and the interests of the community when designing their project.

*Interested artists should email Lydia Stein at lydia.stein@gmail.com with a brief proposal for your project, with the subject-heading HOUSEART. Submissions will be accepted through July 22. Projects will be created in August.

Statewide Open House for Affordable Housing Sales, June 4th

The Housing Network and its member organizations are hosting a statewide open house for Affordable Housing  developers Saturday June 4th, from 11-2.  In Providence, Mayor Tavares will be touring many of the houses and will be on Smith Hill!  We will let you know where and when the mayor will be on hand as soon as possible.   Capital Square and 42 Violet St. will be open for showings and there will be professionals on-hand to answer any questions about the property or financing.  Please help spread the word to anyone who would like to own a high-quality affordable house.

Publicity for Visions II Groundbreaking & Beyond

Our organization would like to thank everyone who participated and contributed to a truly meaningful and fun groundbreaking for our Visions II Development.  We will post links to media coverage below and pictures will be forth coming.  Thanks again.

Providence Journal, September 27, 2010

WJAR News, Channel 10

Fox News Providence.com

Visions II Groundbreaking!

BBC America Features Visions II on Its 8/27/10 Broadcast

BBC News’  North America Editor, Mark Mardell, was on Osborn Street recently to interview Rhode Island Housing Deputy Director, Susan Bodington, about the impact of stimulus funding on the local economy.  This piece, which was aired on Friday 8/27 on BBC America, investigates national economic woes in relation to government  reaction and will focus on, Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke’s remarks about more possible Fed action.  The picture below features the BBC film crew and Mr. Mardell, interviewing RIH’s Susan Bodington, with RIH’s communications team, Amy Lanctot and Faye Zukerman, and SHCDC’s Project Manager, Christian Caldarone, keeping an eye on the proceedings.

Click here to read Mr. Mardell’s BBC blog.

Click here to watch the news clip on BBC News

Clean Hands – Free Appliance Removal and Recycling

As part of Smith Hill CDC’s continuing effort to employ sustainable technologies and practices in every aspect of our development work, we are excited to be currently working with Clean Hands, a new Rhode Island business whose mission is to reduce or eliminate the landfill footprint of the products they recycle at little to no cost to the end user.  Clean Hands employs alternative recycling methods to remove residential and commercial waste that is typically thrown out.  In Smith Hill CDC’s case, Clean Hands is removing every refrigerator, stove, oven, hot water heater and boiler, regardless of condition, from all of our vacant houses which will soon be developed into affordable housing units.

Once these items are removed, Clean Hands will process each item, designating some for repair and resale through used appliance dealers, breaking some down into useful replacement parts, and recycling most of the remaining material.  The key is that careful screening allows for a far greater percentage of reuse than simply selling everything for scrap metal, where over 40% of the material still results in waste.   The methods employed by Clean Hands allow for approximately 95% of material reuse.  Beyond these benefits, the service is also free, which results in thousands of dollars of savings from removal to dumping fees to the CDC and the Visions II project.  Clean Hands free appliance and waste removal services are available to anyone by filling out the application on its website.  Click the Clean Hands link above.

Smith Hill Citizens Police Academy

District 7, Lieutenant Daniel Gannon, is conducting Providence’s first Citizens Police Academy in Smith Hill beginning in late April.

The academy is free and available to anyone.  It is a nine week course that meets weekly for two hours.  There will be many guest speakers, interactive exercises and ride-alongs with on-duty officers.

For more information please contact District 7 Commanding Officer,
Lt. Daniel Gannon at dgannon@providenceri.com or call the substation at 206 Camden Ave, 243-6970.

Home Ownership Class in Smith Hill

Smith Hill CDC is proud to co-sponsor a six-week home ownership class with the Housing Network at Capitol Square at Smith Hill, located at 231 Douglas Ave., Providence, beginning on Tuesday March 2.  Classes will run each Tuesday until April 6th.  These are classes are a requirement of most first-time home ownership financial assistance programs.  Learn everything from personal budgeting and cleaning up your credit, to the ins and outs of owning a home.  The price is only $50.  If you are interested, please call 521-1461 to reserve your spot now.  Space is limited.

Smith Hill Homebuyer’s Class 3/32/10

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration

The Institute for t he Study and Practice of Nonviolence is sponsoring an MLK Day Community Celebration Monday, January 18 from noon until 8:00pm at the Roger’s Recreation Center, located at 60 Camden St.  The purpose of “Choose Community Choose Peace” is to not only recognize Martin Luther King (MLK) Day, but to also celebrate as a community and to appreciate our community’s diversity.

The celebration will begin with a free community lunch and Community Fair from 12 – 2.  The food has been donated by area restaurants and many community organizations will be on hand to share information about services and volunteer opportunities.  The rest of the day and evening will feature a Talent Show and various Tournaments, including ping-pong, 3 on 3 basketball and Madden NFL XBOX Football competitions.   MLK Day Celebration Flyer

Lead Hazard Reduction Program Comes to Smith Hill

The Childhood Lead Action Project, in partnership with the Healthy Kids Collaborative (HKC), is working to make one area of Smith Hill lead-safe! We are currently enrolling eligible property owners in a free program to reduce lead hazards in your home.

Lead hazard reduction work is underway in an area of Smith Hill identified as a “hot spot” for lead poisoning where many young children have been at risk for lead poisoning over the years.  A primary source of lead poisoning is deteriorating lead-based paint that is commonly found in older residences. Lead poisoning can permanently damage children’s brains resulting in learning, language, and reading disabilities and behavioral problems such as hyperactivity.