A Community-Police Partnership Transforms Olneyville, Rhode Island
13 Nov 2007
Olneyville, in Providence, Rhode Island was once a community threatened by drugs, crime and prostitution. Now, thanks to an award-winning partnership between local community development groups and police departments, crime has been reduced by as much as 70% in some areas. Today, Olneyville is a thriving community with waiting lists of potential residents.
Olneyville Housing, with the help of LISC Rhode Island and others, kickstarted the transformation when it set out to acquire and rehabilitate problem real estate and to enlist the help of the police. The collaboration not only reduced crime but resulted in 51 new affordable homes, 2 new storefronts, and the revitalization of the Woonasquatucket Greenway, including the new nine-acre Riverside Park.
The MetLife Foundation, which recognizes partnerships between community development groups and police departments that have reduced crime and otherwise improved low- to moderate-income communities, awarded $25,000 to Olneyville Housing Corporation and the Police Department for their successes in Olneyville. MetLife Foundation also recognized the Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence, another key partner in Olneyville's transformation, for its success in addressing gang and youth violence in the area with the Providence Police.
> Read more on The Providence Journal's website
Article Type: News