RWU, HousingWorks firm up developing affiliation

Hailed by both institutions as a way to better serve the community, Roger Williams University is finalizing its takeover of HousingWorks RI, the housing policy research group.
Guided by a year-old memorandum of understanding, the developing affiliation, which was announced publicly last week, will allow HousingWorks to continue its research and policy work on affordable housing, while helping RWU to better integrate that work in support of the school’s mission.
“This partnership is an important relationship for the university,” said Pete Wilbur, associate vice president of university relations at RWU. “HousingWorks is a resource in terms of fulfilling our affordable excellence initiative, in which experiential learning is a major lynchpin in preparing our students for the job market.”
In the spring of 2012, HousingWorks moved into RWU offices in Providence at 150 Washington St. This past spring, HousingWorks now-former Executive Director Nellie Gorbea announced her intention to run for Rhode Island secretary of state. Her last day was July 31. Nicole Lagace is now interim executive director. Two RWU faculty members and Wilbur also sit on the nonprofit’s board, Wilbur said.
On July 1, the university awarded HousingWorks a $50,000 grant. With a $280,000 budget for the new fiscal year, the nonprofit is also funded by the United Way of Rhode Island, The Rhode Island Foundation and Rhode Island Housing, said Noreen Shawcross, HousingWorks board treasurer.
“Like any small organization, we need to think about sustainability,” Shawcross said. “It just seems like it would be a really good idea to have a permanent home at a university, and we haven’t regretted it since we started the process.”
Some of the ways the university and the nonprofit will continue to collaborate include establishing and sustaining student internships and fulfilling criteria for the university’s collegiate partnership with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Wilbur said. HUD student internships are already under way and more are being planned, he said.
HousingWorks will continue to produce its biggest project, the “Housing Fact Book,” Shawcross said. Published every September, the book pulls together in one place the housing costs to live in Rhode Island by city and town, she said. The next book comes out Sept. 27. Founded in 2006, HousingWorks also produces quarterly foreclosure reports, tracks and maps the homebuilding that results from affordable housing bonding initiatives, and writes special reports, including this past spring’s publication, “A Complete Approach to Funding Affordable Housing.”
HousingWorks board of directors Chairman Ian Lang said the developing relationship with the university is in the “long-term best interest” of both organizations “because it allows us to leverage resources in a new way. We each are able to build on the expertise of the other and take advantage of the expertise of each other,” he said.
For instance, Lang said, HousingWorks will be able to work directly with professors at RWU to examine housing issues, as well as provide “real-world experiences” for students through internships, research opportunities and classroom discussions.
Wilbur added that the mutual commitment may include relevant for-credit coursework, Fair Housing externship opportunities with HUD or its Fair Housing partners, and opportunities for law students to engage in pro bono opportunities related to the enforcement of Fair Housing laws. Involving undergraduates in service learning opportunities through the university’s Community Partnership Center is also an option, he said.
According to the university website, the center provides project-based assistance to nonprofit organizations, municipalities, government agencies and low- and moderate-income communities in Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts. The goal is to complete projects that benefit the local community, while providing RWU students with experience that deepens their academic life.
Lang, Wilbur and Shawcross said the evolving affiliation will strengthen the existing partnership, and does not reflect any financial instability at the nonprofit.
Shawcross called the connection a great way to address such challenges as figuring out how to address affordable housing issues creatively, communicating the importance of affordable housing to the Rhode Island economy, and educating the public.
“It’s a wonderful fit,” she said. •

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