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Overview  Welcome to Making Connections Providence, a community change effort to strengthen three neighborhoods: Elmwood, South Providence and the West End. We work to mobilize local leaders, concerned citizens, business owners, government officials and nonprofit service providers in order to make our neighborhoods stronger, support our families and help our children thrive.
Focusing on four areas that include; Jobs and Family Economic Assets, Neighborhood Quality, and Education and Housing, we work with local partner organizations to gather and analyze data that informs our work. This information assists us in identifying the areas where our neighborhoods need strengthening and the strategies to achieve success in creating a vibrant, healthy community. This fact finding process has revealed significant differences in the quality of life and opportunity for residents in the Making Connections neighborhoods as compared to surrounding Providence neighborhoods and the State as a whole. When compared to surrounding communities, residents in the Making Connections Providence neighborhoods have lower income and less access to family health benefits through their employers. Student test scores are below state average while rates of incarceration, probation, and parole are among the highest in the state. Over the past five years, affordable housing has all but disappeared as housing values have skyrocketed.
The richly diverse population, the growing immigrant community and the energy of the Making Connections neighborhoods is the cornerstone for success in addressing these challenges. There are over 40 languages spoken here. We attract a wonderful mix of ethnic stores, groceries and restaurants and have access to a number of thriving cultural institutions, arts and youth organizations, parks, and community centers within our borders.
Working in the neighborhoods since 1999, a site coordinator, staff and resident volunteers have been working with Making Connections Providence to lay the groundwork for neighborhood transformation. Over the next 5 years, Making Connections Providence and our partners will work to support neighborhood families and children by implementing important goals identified by community members. |
