SAFETY INITIATIVES Codding Court, Roger Williams, and Hartford Park participated in the fire

safety events that take place annually. Events included presentations in the

form of a slideshow and a smoke trailer presentation. Residents enjoyed

hot dogs, pizza, and drinks provided by Resident Associations, Planning

Committees, Councilmen, Representatives and the Providence Canteen.

Informational pamphlets were also distributed and gift cards were raffled.

In addition to the fire safety events, Chad Brown, Admiral Terrace, Sunset

Village, Manton Heights and Scattered Sites, in collaboration with the

Providence Community Opportunity Corporation, held a Seatbelt Safety &

Education initiative called the Protect Providence with One Click Campaign.

This initiative aimed to raise awareness and educate PHA residents about

the importance of wearing seatbelts, having an appropriate car seat for

children and it also promoted Rhode Island’s Primary Seatbelt Law. Events

offered residents the opportunity to witness a roll over demonstration and

allowed them to interact with professionals from the partnering organiza-

tions. More than 150 car/booster seats were given to residents with children

under 9 years and who owned a vehicle in order to ensure that children are

properly restrained.

A LOOK AHEAD... The Providence Housing Authority (PHA) will continue to make progress on its goal to have active Resident Associations at each of

the developments. Planning Committees will also continue their mission to meet monthly to hear residents’ needs and concerns,

plan activities, and to share available support services and ideas from other PHA developments. By participating, the residents are

being trained on Resident Association rules, regulations, and purposeful activity planning. By reaching the goal of having 100% func-

tioning resident representation, whether it is a Resident Association or a Planning Committee, the PHA aims to increase resident

participation. The Resident Associations and Planning Committees are instrumental in distributing information, announcements,

supportive services offered, or job/skill training programs to public housing residents through notice distribution and hosting

monthly meetings. This is an important aspect of the Resident Associations and Planning Committees since their efforts help the

PHA meet its program enrollment targets and connect residents with opportunities and services that can better their lives and their

community. Our task will continue to be to provide RAB members with detailed presentations outlining current Resident Services

Department programs and supportive services available to PHA youth, families/adults and elderly populations and received Budget

Management Training.

Fire Safety Event

Safety Meeting at Chad Brown

Resident Association/Resident Association/Resident Association/

Planning Committee Planning Committee Planning Committee

NewsletterNewsletterNewsletter

PPPROVIDENCEROVIDENCEROVIDENCE HHHOUSINGOUSINGOUSING AAAUTHORITYUTHORITYUTHORITY’’’SSS

Fiscal year 2015 was especially significant as it

was filled with many memorable events. An

important process that took place was the

nomination process of PHA Resident

Representatives. In this process, the PHA lead

an official nomination process to coordinate

an authority-wide resident representative

campaign. This campaign was used to inform

and assemble a list of interested residents to

represent their developments on the PHA’s

Board of Commissioners, the Resident

Advisory Board and/or other future

committees formed by the PHA.

During this process, residents were provided

bilingual informational packets highlighting

the process and purpose of each committee.

As a result, there were five new members

nominated.

Another achievement in FY2015 took place

with the completion of nine 75th Anniversary

Events. The 9 events reached a total of 685

attendees (337 of which were PHA residents).

The 75th Anniversary Events were an

opportunity for residents to have easier

access to the celebrations and all attendees

experienced a comprehensive showing of the

dynamic components that contribute to the

PHA’s longevity and success. The events

schedule promoted productivity and pride as

a team of PHA employees, residents and the

members of the 75th Planning Committee

worked tirelessly to produce perfection. The

PHA thanks each and every one of those who

made the events special, unique,

heartwarming and honorable. We also

understand that it was impossible-even with 9

events-to recognize each of the PHA’s long

list of employees, residents, partners and suc-

cess stories. It was our hope that we come

together to embrace the “feel good” senti-

ment that the PHA provides when we work

comprehensively toward our mission to serve

the affordable housing community.

Another important process that took place

during FY 2015 was the submission of the Five

Year Plan as part of the Annual Planning

process. The Five Year Plan consisted of the

PHA’s goals and objectives for the next five

years. An outline was created that

highlighted the past 5 year trends for

important measures such as occupancy, turn

overs and homeownership. PHA staff, RAB

members and the public were offered the

opportunity to provide comments and

feedback on this portion of the Plan.

There were three meetings in preparation of

the Five Year and Annual Plan processes in

which the RAB was informed about existing

housing authority policies, Departmental pro-

cedures, and any new or proposed policies

and program as well information regarding

the goals, objectives and the progress being

made in meeting the last five year’s goals and

objectives. Valuable comments and feedback

from residents were received during this

process.

FY 2015 at a Glance ................. ….….1

Holiday Celebrations ............... ….....2

Back to School Events ............. ….....2

Health & Wellness .................. ….....2

Community Socials ................. ...…..3

Resident Representation Status…...3

Safety Initiatives ...................... ….….4

A Look Ahead .......................... ……..4

INSIDE THIS ISSUE...

FY 2015 at a GlanceFY 2015 at a GlanceFY 2015 at a Glance

Executive Director Paul J. Tavares at

Dexter Manor’s 75th Anniversary

Celebration

PHA MISSION STATEMENT:

The Providence Housing Authority exists to develop and maintain decent,

safe and sanitary housing and to address the economic and social needs of

residents. The Providence Housing Authority is committed to high

standards of public accountability and continuous improvement through

management excellence, professional development and customer satisfaction.

During FY 2015, many residents expressed interest in continuing to participate in the fresh

produce markets funded by the Brown University Institute for Community Health Promotion.

The PHA is also very interested in continuing the program and therefore efforts were made

to revive the initiative. Meetings and updates will be coordinated and provided in early FY

2016.

At Carroll Tower a health & wellness presentation took place to educate residents on health

matters such as asthma, hypertension, high blood pressure, and diabetes, among others.

Several organizations attended and did educational presentations for the participants. Some of

the contributing organizations included Walgreens Pharmacy, The University of Rhode Island’s

Pharmacy Department, and The University of Rhode Island’s SNAP Program which did a

presentation on how to purchase healthy food items.

HEALTH & WELLNESS

The holidays are a special time for

communities and families alike. For this

reason, Resident Associations and Planning

Committees in the PHA utilize these special

days to have residents and staff celebrate

together. In some instances, holiday

gatherings were used for awareness and

educational aims. Codding Court, Roger

Williams, Chad Brown, Admiral Terrace and

Sunset Village held events on Mother’s Day

to celebrate the mothers in these develop-

ments. For the events, gift cards and flowers

w e r e p u r c h a s e d a n d w e r e

distributed to 25 recipients. Similarly, Carroll

Tower and Kilmartin Plaza held Valentine’s

Day events and in these events the

opportunity was also taken to educate

attendees on how to adopt healthier habits

in order to improve their overall health. In

addition to the aforementioned events,

Kilmartin Plaza also held a St. Patrick's Day

event while the family developments held a

holiday toy drive for the children in their

developments. Another holiday that was

celebrated by the residents of Manton

Heights and Parenti Villa was Halloween.

During this celebration residents were given

a flyer informing them of who to contact in

the event of an emergency. Residents

enjoyed food and refreshments.

BACK TO SCHOOL

EVENTS

Back to School events took place

i n a l l o f t h e f a m i l y

developments. Participants

enjoyed refreshments, music,

bouncy houses and a raffled

prize. School supplies and

backpacks, donated by Cox

Communications and United

Health were supplemented by

other funds, and given to each

resident child between the ages

of 6-17.

These events were a huge

success thanks to the donations

from PHA sponsors and the

c o l l a b o r a t i o n a m o n g

community partners, Resident

Associations and Planning

Committees as well as PHA

staff. Resident Association and

Planning Committee members

distributed flyers, volunteered

to distribute backpacks, grilled

food and assisted with the

clean-up after the events.

HOLIDAY CELEBRATIONS

COMMUNITY SOCIALS Across all of the developments numerous community social events took place. Dexter Manor

held coffee hours in the evenings with the purpose of boosting resident participation levels and

the development of resident socialization. The Coffee hours allowed residents to participate

in open discussions regarding their concerns and offered them the opportunity to share ideas

for building-wide improvements. In addition, high rises held cultural festivals for all participants

which are designed to bring all of the residents together. Those who attended enjoyed dishes

from around the globe. Additionally, Chad Brown, Admiral Terrace and Sunset Village had a

management/maintenance appreciation event which gave the PHA staff and the residents an

opportunity to show their gratitude to the staff that is a vital part of the developments.

Monthly Resident Association meetings were also held in Hartford Park and in Carroll Tower

to give Resident Association members the opportunity to plan community-wide events and to

educate residents on different topics that are relevant to their respective populations.

Furthermore, Dominica Manor offered crocheting classes and art classes to their residents

where the participation rates remained consistent during the year. At Hartford Park, in an

effort to keep staff and the Association connected, members hosted Staff Appreciation Events

to honor them for their hard work which benefits the development. In an effort to strengthen

resident relationships, Kilmartin Plaza held recurring, community-wide activities one of which

included monthly birthday celebrations. Another community event in Parenti Villa was the

Food Pantry Appreciation event which was held to thank the volunteers that assist in direct-

ing the program. In this event residents enjoyed a BBQ while they listened and danced to a

variety of music played by a DJ and they also participated in raffles. To commemorate this

event the Food Pantry volunteers received Appreciation Certificates.

Parenti Villa

Food Pantry

Appreciation

Event

Painting

class at

Dominica

Manor

Hartford Park Appreciation Event

Mayor Elorza visiting Parenti Villa

Resident Representation

Status by Development:

Resident Association (R.A.)

Development R.A. P.C.

Carroll Tower

Chad / Ad / Sun

Codding / Roger

Williams

Dexter Manor

Dominica Manor

Hartford Park

Kilmartin Plaza

Manton Heights

Parenti Villa