Home Industries Health Services Providence creates new Housing and Human Services Office

Providence creates new Housing and Human Services Office

By

Katie Castellani

-

02/06/2024

IigQaoHv-Providence — AS THE city is grappling with rapidly rising rent prices a new office focused on boosting affordable housing and health is coming to City Hall, Mayor Brett P. Smiley and Chief of Policy and Resiliency Sheila Dormody announced Monday./PBN FILE PHOTO/PAMELA BHATIA

PROVIDENCE – As the city is grappling with rapidly rising rent prices a new office focused on boosting affordable housing and health is coming to City Hall, Mayor Brett P. Smiley and Chief of Policy and Resiliency Sheila Dormody announced Monday. The Housing and Human Services Office, which officially launched Monday, was developed over the past

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PROVIDENCE – As the city is grappling with rapidly rising rent prices a new office focused on boosting affordable housing and health is coming to City Hall, Mayor Brett P. Smiley and Chief of Policy and Resiliency Sheila Dormody announced Monday. The Housing and Human Services Office, which officially launched Monday, was developed over the past year to help align priorities and funding around housing and health, Smiley’s spokesperson Josh Estrella said in a statement to PBN. The office will unify the city’s Healthy Communities Office, as well as The Housing and Community Development Division and Senior Service with a focus on building and guiding the city's affordable housing strategy, integrating behavioral health supports throughout its departments and work with community partners to improve public health and affordable housing, according to a news release. In terms of funding Estrella said the office will be formally submitted in this year's budget ordinance. Recent reports show apartment rents in the Providence-Warwick area are rising faster than anywhere else in the U.S. The Providence metro median rent, which included Warwick, rose more than 21.5% year over year in December, marking the highest percentage increase among 50 metro areas analyzed by rent.com, PBN previously reported. So far the Smiley administration has invested millions to improve housing. This includes $29.2 million to the Providence Housing Trust to increase the supply of affordable homes, using $4.3 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds for emergency shelter beds and other emergency housing solutions and supporting programs like Amos House’s A Hand Up program. There are also plans to invest another $1.7 million in emergency housing this year, according to a news release. But as the affordable housing crisis has continued, the Smiley administration hopes the office will help the city take advantage of federal funds and coordinate policymaking and investments in both housing and behavioral health, Estrella said. “I am excited to announce this new office, which reflects the priority that housing and health have in this administration,” Smiley said. “Our residents need both immediate supports and long-term solutions to address the housing and behavioral health crises that we are experiencing. This new, integrated office will allow the city to better align resources to meet residents’ interconnected needs, enhance the work of community partners and make impactful quality-of-life changes for our most vulnerable residents.” Specifically, the office will be in charge of managing the city’s community development and housing programs, citywide health policies, substance use disorder prevention programs and health promotions funding efforts, according to a news release. This includes initiatives like the City’s Opioid Overdose Prevention Plan, making Providence an Age-Friendly city as well as the city’s investments in affordable housing development over the last year. “Housing and health are two intrinsically connected issues. By aligning our efforts, I am confident we can make impactful change for the residents that need it most,” said Dormody. “We are thankful for the incredible work of our many community partners that are already making meaningful progress in this space and we look forward to further amplifying their work.” The office will be led by director Emily Freedman who served as the city’s director of community development for more than seven years where she oversaw Providence’s affordable housing strategies and investments, managed community investment programming and led deployment of federal funds for projects throughout the city. Also Rachel Ferrara will serve as the director of human service division within the office. She joined the city in February 2022 as the health communities office data and evaluation manager. In that role she oversaw development and implementation of plans for programs like the Behavioral Health Co-Response. Ferrara has also led the development of the city’s overdose prevention strategy and she will oversee its implementation in her new position. Additionally William Facente will serve as the city’s housing division director within the new office. Facente is joining Providence after 28 years with Warwick where he focused on affordable housing development, housing rehabilitation and community economic development programs. Katie Castellani is a PBN staff writer. You may contact her at Castellani@PBN.com