Sometimes Joe Newsome wonders if he has been wasting his time.
In downtown Providence a $450 million mega-mall is changing the
landscape of a city. Millions of dollars has been poured into the
project over a decade of planning and now, development. When it opens
next summer Providence Place is expected to employ 2,500 workers.
Newsome knows people who could use a job at a place like Providence
Place. Hard working people. People who are willing to be trained or re-
trained to learn the intricacies of retailing or perhaps, food service.
But getting residents of Providence a job at Providence Place might
not be as easy as one might think.
A former state representative who served in the General Assembly for
six years, Newsome is in his third year as president and executive
director of the South Providence Development Corporation.
The non-profit organization represents a coalition of businesses and
agencies interested in improving the economic climate of South
Providence. SPDC’s backers include: Fleet Community Development
Corporation; Gilbane Building Company; Minority Investment Development
Corporation; Rhode Island Human Resource Investment Council; Rhode
Island Hospital Foundation; St. Joseph Hospital; The Providence Plan;
The Rhode Island Foundation; United Way of Southeastern New England and
Women & Infants’ Hospital.
Newsome’s agenda, and the agenda of the SPDC is simple; Get people
into the workplace. You would think that Providence Place and its 2,500
jobs would be a beacon of light. And Newsome, in fact, is by no means an
opponent of the project.
But he has learned through the years that nothing is easy – and that
money is always an issue.
“Theoretically, it (Providence Place) bodes well,” Newsome said. “But
there aren’t too many up-front agreements. There is nothing in the
city’s tax treaty that requires training or preference for Providence
residents.”
To Newsome, that is no small deal. And unfortunately, it takes a bit
of the luster off what is being widely applauded as a triumphant project
for the capital city, and for Rhode Island.
“There needs to be a clear and unambiguous link to the people of
Providence,” he said. “I’m not sure how much good a mall is for the city
if all the people who work there are from outside of Providence.”
A few months ago, much was made of a plan to institute a series of
retail training courses. Newsome and the SPDC are charged with
coordinating that effort. The idea – to train and re-train workers
specifically for jobs at the mall – makes sense.
Michael Doyle, a spokesman for the developers of Providence Place,
said earlier this month that details of a training program for high
school students, and one for adults, would be announced in mid-winter.
“We expect these retail training programs to enhance the candidates’
credentials,” he said.
But there’s a glitch. The training programs remain a good idea — a
good idea in need of capital.
“There’s no money,” said Doyle. “We tried to get money from the city,
but there is none. And all the CDBG grants are booked until July.”
That’s the frustrating aspect of having an agenda like Newsome’s.
“My frustration probably mirrors the frustration that people who do
community work in the neighborhoods experience,” Newsome said. “We are
trying to give people hope – and there is so little capital available.”
The SPDC has about $50,000 locked up through the Rhode Island
Economic Development Corporation. But their initial goal was to train
250 people. That was expected to cost $525,000. If the money is
obtained, the training is not a problem.
Sally Gabb has a mission similar to that of Newsome. She works to
provide immigrants and refugees with the tools they need to achieve the
American Dream.
Gabb is the director of adult programs at The Genesis Center in
Providence. The center serves more than 300 adults each year, providing
English as a Second Language and pre-employment training.
The Genesis Center has an on-site professional food service program
that graduates 50 adults each year and boasts of an 80 percent placement
rate.
“We work primarily with lower income refugees who need the support to
build on the skills they bring here with them,” Gabb said.
Gabb said the center has a waiting list of more than 150 people who
want to get training and jobs,” she said. “But we can’t prepare folks
unless we have the money.”
Gabb sees Providence Place as an opportunity, “if in fact
organizations such as ours are given the opportunity to serve as a
support system to help those residents who have barriers to employment.”
“It is very difficult to see so many jobs created as a result of
bringing in the mall – and that those jobs are given to people from
outside the city,” Gabb said. What’s ironic, Gabb said, is that those 50
people that her food service program graduates each year are talented
workers, some with significant experience.
“These are commercial establishments that need folks to come in with
skills so that they can go to work,” she said. “Our folks have the will
to work. They may come with experience, but they need help with the
language. These folks can not afford the training. Many are refugees
from war and disaster, or economic refugees who can’t make a wage to
support their familiesWe have folks who ran restaurants in their home
countries.”
Newsome has an idea of where this is going. He has read about a hefty
state surplus. And he knows a trip to the State House is probably in
order.
“We need the funding,” said Newsome. “Perhaps the quickest way to
solve this is for the governor and the legislators to appropriate
funding. Early in January, I’ll sit down with the governor and
legislative leaders. If they want to make this happen, they certainly
can, in a short period of time.”
Newsome is not bemoaning the success of downtown Providence. But
there is a lot of money flying around this Providence Place and it seems
to him that some of it should land in the inner city.
The training programs are a great idea and Newsome isn’t giving up.
So he will visit the State House. He will talk to former colleagues.
He’ll introduce himself to new faces. He will explain the importance of
backing a good idea with some capital.
He will try to explain to people the importance of linking downtown
development to the needs of the neighborhood. He’s got a lot of work
ahead of him. The mall is scheduled to open August 20. And the lines at
The Genesis Center aren’t getting any shorter.
Joe Newsome wishes he didn’t have to “run around to every new project
and essentially beg for money.” Newsome will work hard at this because
that’s his mission. Even if it does get frustrating at times.
And he’ll hope and pray that he isn’t wasting his time.
