Attorney General announces grant awards

Published on February 20, 2013

In a statement released yesterday, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin announced the award of a $60,000 Rhode Island Homeowner Foreclosure Grant to HousingWorks RI.

This grant is part of the National Mortgage Settlement funding for local efforts to help homeowners facing foreclosure. HousingWorks RI will use the funds to support its work analyzing foreclosures in each Rhode Island municipality and the effect these foreclosures have on their surrounding communities.

"Just as important as getting resources to struggling homeowners is having data-driven analysis of the housing market and foreclosure crisis in Rhode Island to guide policies on how to improve the market," Attorney General Kilmartin said in the statement.

"We are thankful to Attorney General Kilmartin for awarding us $60,000 to conduct this important data analysis," said Nellie M. Gorbea, executive director of HousingWorks RI. "We're confident this research will not only help the state to recover from the current foreclosure crisis, but also inform policy discussions on how to prevent another in the future."

Attorney General Kilmartin also announced a $155,000 grant to Progreso Latino to expand their Better Living Project. Previous awards included a two-year, $1.57 million grant to Rhode Island Legal Services (RILS) to fund the Foreclosure Prevention Project, as well as a $375,000 grant to the Housing Network of Rhode Island for homeowner counseling, homebuyer education and outreach.