Chris Hannifan is executive director of the Housing Network of Rhode Island, a state association of 20 nonprofit community development corporations (CDCs). Founded in 1992, the Housing Network’s members have created thousands of affordable-housing units throughout the state and have initiated a number of revitalization efforts in neighborhoods across Rhode Island.
This fall, in an effort to create administrative efficiencies and coordinate work across the sector, the Housing Network moved from its former location at 48 Nashua St. in Providence to a new location at 1070 Main St. in Pawtucket. The Housing Network now shares space with four fellow affordable-housing and homelessness-prevention organizations, including the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless, the Housing Action Coalition, the Corporation for Supportive Housing and the Community Land Trust of Rhode Island. Hannifan recently spoke with Providence Business News about this new collaborative effort and what it means for the sector and those that it serves.
PBN: What was the primary driver behind the Housing Network deciding to move in with similar organizations?
HANNIFAN: We are fortunate in Rhode Island to have a very strong advocacy community that supports affordable-housing and homelessness-prevention initiatives. The Housing Network has worked in partnership with the other four organizations for many years – redeveloping communities, creating job opportunities and affordable-housing options for Rhode Islanders who need them, implementing innovative programs to address the needs of our homeless neighbors – there is a lot of synergy between us. We do overlapping and complementary work and many times we serve very similar populations. The primary drivers behind the move were to solidify our partnerships across the sector, use resources and talent as wisely as possible – particularly in a difficult economy, and to better serve our members and constituents.
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PBN: Who came up with the idea and how?
HANNIFAN: The idea for the colocation and creation of a new, “wall-less” organization was really a collective decision by the five organizations. We recognized an important opportunity to share our resources, knowledge, and expertise in order to have a greater impact across the state. We are also very thankful to the United Way of Rhode Island and to Citizens Bank for their generous support of our colocation, planning and moving expenses.
PBN: Besides sharing space, how does the consolidation affect the operations of the Housing Network?
HANNIFAN: The collaboration has positively impacted the Housing Network. The shared space has helped to streamline our work and lower our administrative costs. The need for collaboration and coordination is as strong today as ever – in both the public and private sectors, financial resources are scarce, so we must use what we have as wisely as possible. The shared space at 1070 Main St. has increased our ability to work collaboratively across organizations, prevent duplications of effort, and has allowed our organizations to access each other’s skills, experience and expertise. Ultimately, by working more closely with our partners, we will be building a stronger foundation and continuum of affordable-housing opportunities and homelessness=prevention services for Rhode Island.
PBN: Any fear that your organization may lose some of its identity by consolidating its offices?
HANNIFAN: On the contrary, we believe that this collaboration will help to strengthen our identity. Each of the five organizations has an important role to play in the affordable-housing and homelessness-prevention sector – while our work is distinct, our goals overlap and complement each other. We share members and funders, we coordinate efforts on developments and initiatives across the state – and simply being able to walk across the hall to ask a colleague from another organization a question allows us to save time, stay coordinated, and ultimately, do our jobs better. Between our five organizations, we have 28 staff members, nearly 80 years of experience, and we serve about 13,000 Rhode Islanders across the state.
Here is a great example of our work as partners – the Yes We Will Conference, held on Nov. 9 was sponsored and organized by the five organizations who call 1070 Main St. home. It was a hugely successful event, attracting more than 400 participants and creating an opportunity for colleagues and friends across the sector to share ideas, best practices and hone their skills as advocates for affordable-housing and homelessness-prevention initiatives.
PBN: Is there a long-term plan to welcome additional groups into the space?
HANNIFAN: We are at the very beginning stages of creating what we hope will become a model of collaboration and coordination for nonprofit organizations across the state – not only in the affordable-housing and homelessness-prevention sector, but across all sectors. While we do not have plans to add additional groups at this time, we would be more than happy to share our experience with organizations who are interested in learning more about our efforts.
