The Votes are In! Pawtucket Central Falls Health Equity Zone announces winning Programs

6.28.2023 — Press ReleasesHealth

PAWTUCKET and CENTRAL FALLS, RI — The residents of Pawtucket and Central Falls have voted to approve funding for two projects to improve the social determinants of health in their community. During voting conducted over a three-week period for residents age 14 and above, funding was approved for a new Sprinkler Water Park & Outdoor Gym Equipment as well as the Mental Health: End the Stigma Campaign.

The funding was made possible by a grant from the Executive Office of Health and Human Services and the Rhode Island Department of Health to create this Participatory Budgeting pilot initiative. As a result of the supplemental budget, residents of Pawtucket and Central Falls were able to vote for programs designed by the community for the community for ways to apply the $385,000 budget to improve social determinants of health. This special funding was made possible by a grant to the State from the Medicaid Health Systems Transformation Project.

The winning project includes a new splash pad water installation planned for the John Street Park in the north corner of Pawtucket. The park currently has basketball courts, is highly used and located in a densely settled community surrounded by multi-family homes. The park is conveniently accessible for residents of Central Falls and Attleboro on the RIPTA number 1 bus line.

The other component of the winning program is the installation of outdoor fitness equipment at Governor Lincoln Park in Central Falls. This will install specially designed circuit training machines for outdoor use which will provide people of all ages and abilities with a space to exercise using sophisticated equipment for free. The Governor Almond Park currently has a playground for very young children, and this additional feature will provide a destination for older children, teens and adults. These two installations will cost $288,000.

“It’s incredible to see this happening,” said Demetrius Fay who submitted the initial concept for the splash pad and outdoor exercise equipment. “I work at the YMCA in childcare and have volunteered with sports leagues around Pawtucket and Central Falls and I see what the kids need. They don’t have many places to go in the summer here.”

More than 800 residents voted either online at DecideRI.org or through more than 20 pop-up voting opportunities, including a family-friendly Vote Party held at Tides Family Service in Pawtucket. Ballots were available in English, Spanish and Portuguese. Voting machines were provided by Secretary of State Gregg Amore.

“As a resident of Central Falls, a parent, and community advocate, The Together We Can Participatory Budgeting (PB) process has allowed us to elevate the voices of the average resident in Central Falls and Pawtucket,” said Carlene Fonesca, Central Falls resident and a Participatory Budgeting facilitator. “PB is giving our residents the opportunity to be active in their community and to have agency in the decision-making process when it comes to spending real money.”

Fonesca was the Change Agent responsible for developing the campaign to support stigma reduction for mental health. The program will create a multi-media campaign to bring awareness to mental health needs for people of all ages, cultures, and backgrounds. The community felt this project was necessary to address the growing mental health epidemic, and it was important to provide education on the issue, and where to turn for resources.

Participatory Budgeting started last summer when the RI Department of Health, in partnership with EOHHS, allocated federal funding to two Health Equity Zones to conduct a pilot program to improve health outcomes. The process was intended to engage residents to identify issues, develop programs and vote on the programs to be funded. Last fall, Pawtucket and Central Falls residents submitted more than 600 ideas through community meetings, drop boxes, and on-line through DecideRI.org. From January to May, more than 30 multi-lingual, multi-generational residents, known as Change Agents, gathered those 600 ideas, categorized combined them into 11 project ideas, and then worked together to develop, plan and determine feasibility of the projects for the ballot.

“These are the kinds of actions that will help ensure that every person has a chance to live their highest potential—regardless of race, class, sex, gender, disability status, or ZIP code,” said Assistant Secretary Ana Novais, Executive Office of Health and Human Services. “Bottom line: the HEZ initiative is not just a program. It is infrastructure, and it is a movement that challenges people to prioritize equity, sit together, and change public health for the better.”

The concept of Participatory Budgeting originated in Brazil in 1989 and has been successfully implemented in U.S. cities, including New York, Boston, and Chicago. Central Falls was the first city in Rhode Island to launch Participatory Budgeting in 2019. There are now more than 10,000 participatory budgeting processes around the world, in cities, housing authorities, schools and other public agencies.

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