3 groups win Community-Police Partnership Awards

COURTESY OLNEYVILLE HOUSING CORPORATION

69 ALEPPO ST., before it was developed by Olneyville Housing. The group’s efforts “have resulted in 51 new affordable homes and a 70% reduction in crime around targeted properties,” the MetLife Foundation said.

COURTESY OLNEYVILLE HOUSING CORPORATION

OLNEYVILLE HOUSING was honored for its efforts, with the Providence police, to transform vacant and “nuisance” properties in the Olneyville neighborhood into affordable housing like this new home on Aleppo Street.

PROVIDENCE – In a ceremony this morning at Riverside Park in Olneyville, the MetLife Foundation honored three city organizations for their success in reducing crime. U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Mayor David N. Cicilline and MetLife Vice President Michael Convery were among those on hand for the 10 a.m. presentation of two MetLife Foundation Community-Police Partnership Awards.

• The Olneyville Housing Corporation and the Providence Police Department shared a $25,000 first-place Neighborhood Revitalization Award, for helping turn around the Olneyville neighborhood by acquiring vacant land and “nuisance” properties and replacing them with attractive, affordable housing. “These efforts have resulted in 51 new affordable homes and a 70-percent reduction in crime around targeted properties,” the MetLife Foundation said.

“There are a lot of people and organizations in Olneyville working toward building a healthy neighborhood that provides everything a family needs to be successful,” Frank Shea, executive director of Olneyville Housing, said in a statement. “Every day, the Providence Police Department is a key partner in this work. We appreciate the MetLife Foundation for recognizing and supporting our efforts.”

• The Institute for Study & Practice of Nonviolence received a $15,000 award in a “Special Strategy” Gang Prevention and Youth Safety category for its “Streetworkers” program, which trains young people to mediate gang conflicts and intervene in neighborhood crises. The streetworkers – who include former gang members – seek to teach nonviolence, by word and example, and reconnect local youths with their schools and families.

“I have always believed that community policing is about being a part of the support structure for families and neighborhoods,” Providence Police Chief Dean Esserman said of the awards. “The work of these organizations – improving where people live and how they deal with conflict – is something the police must support however we can.

“We need partners who are working to strengthen their communities. The stronger the community is, the closer we all get to our goals.”

Providence is the only city in the country to be recognized in two categories, the MetLife Foundation said in announcing the awards. The local winners were selected from among more than 400 applicants nationwide.

Sponsored by the MetLife Foundation and administered by the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, the Community-Police Partnership Awards recognize partnerships between community development groups and police departments that have reduced crime and improved housing development, economic activity and community services in low- and moderate-income communities.

“LISC established the Community Safety Initiative out of a recognition that ensuring safe streets is a critical element in any successful neighborhood revitalization project,” Barbara Fields, executive director of Rhode Island LISC, said in a statement. “CSI works with law-enforcement and community groups to promote strategic alliances that reduce crime.”

“We are pleased to join LISC in recognizing Olneyville Housing Corporation, the Institute for the Study & Practice of Nonviolence and the Providence Police Department for … creating safer, more livable communities,” added Sibyl Jacobson, the MetLife Foundation’s president.

The Local Initiatives Support Corporation is a community development organization supporting revitalization in more than 300 urban and rural communities nationwide. In Rhode Island, LISC has provided grants, loans and equity financing to support the development of nearly 6,000 houses and apartments and more than 1 million square feet of commercial and facilities space. The group’s Community Safety Initiative was established in 1994 to help community organizations develop strategic alliances with their local police departments, to help combat crime and attract investments. To learn more about the Rhode Island LISC or the safety initiative, visit www.lisc.org.

The MetLife Foundation was established by MetLife in 1976. A longtime supporter of LISC’s community revitalization efforts, it made a $1 million leadership grant in 1994 to help launch the Community Safety Initiative and has provided LISC with nearly $77 million in grants and below-market-rate loans. To learn more, visit www.MetLife.org.