PROVIDENCE – U.S. Sen. Jack Reed and Gov. Donald L. Carcieri today joined state housing officials in unveiling plans for a Neighborhood Stabilization Program to be administered by the R.I. Office of Housing and Community Development (OHCD) and Rhode Island Housing.

“The foreclosure crisis has impacted many communities in Rhode Island,” Carcieri told the Statehouse news conference. “We felt it earlier and harder than the rest of the nation.”

The new program “will put money to work in communities with the highest need to stabilize the neighborhoods, provide quality, affordable housing for Rhode Islanders and support construction jobs,” the governor said.

The local effort is part of the $3.92 billion Neighborhood Stabilization Program created by the U.S. Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 to prevent neighborhood blight by enabling cities and towns to acquire and redevelop foreclosed homes.

The Rhode Island program also will provide down-payment assistance for first-time homebuyers and money for the demolition of blighted properties.

The goal is to “revitalize neighborhoods threatened by blight, create jobs and provide safe, healthy homes,” said Noreen Shawcross, the OHCD’s executive director. “Rhode Island Housing’s role is not only to ensure that this money is spent effectively and promptly, but to leverage the program with other resources to get the best possible results for Rhode Islanders,” added Richard H. Godfrey Jr., executive director of the self-sustaining agency.

The statewide program will be funded by a $19.6 million community development block grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that was announced by Reed in September. (READ MORE)

“This summer – when we finally overcame opposition to reform our nation’s housing finance system – I fought hard to include federal funds to cope with the foreclosure crisis,” said Reed, who drafted several key provisions of the federal law.

“Vacant, foreclosed homes can invite crime and drag down neighboring property values,” the senator added. “This is a smart investment in strengthening our communities, putting more people to work in construction jobs, and bolstering the local economy.”

Reed emphasized that “today’s announcement is the first step, but in the weeks ahead, there needs to be more support for these kinds of initiatives from Washington.”

Godfrey agreed, saying that “clearly, it will take much more work and funding to completely turn around Rhode Island’s economic and housing crisis, particularly in the neighborhoods that have been devastated by foreclosures.

“We are particularly hopeful that the stimulus packages being developed by Congress and President-elect Obama’s transition team will bring our cities and state the additional funding needed to recover and prosper,” he added.

The R.I. Neighborhood Stabilization Program is a $19.6 million homebuyer assistance and redevelopment program jointly administered by the R.I. Office of Housing and Community Development – part of the R.I. Department of Administration’s Division of Planning and Community Development – and Rhode Island Housing. Additional information is available from the OHCD and its Housing Resources Commission at www.hrc.ri.gov.

Rhode Island Housing is a self-sustaining state agency that offers loans, grants and consumer education to help Rhode Islanders obtain homes they can afford. To learn more, visit www.RhodeIslandHousing.org.