All News & Events

On Friday, March 15, Aquidneck Island Planning Commission hosted Aquidneck Island residents, business owners, elected officials, and others for an in-depth look at the state of housing on Aquidneck Island. The forum consisted of three expert panels followed by interactive break-out sessions.

Aquidneck Island Planning Commission to host March 15 panel discussions addressing challenges facing milennials and baby boomers at CCRI Newport.

Stephen Ostiguy, who has worked for Church Community Housing Corp. for the past 36 years and is well known in the community, has stepped down as executive director.

Buildings and homes in need of repairs in Woonsocket and Newport have access to funds for rehabilitation under an affordable housing initiative announced Monday.

Announcement: Two Program Officer positions at the van Beuren Charitable Foundation in Newport RI.

A developer hoping to convert the former Cranston-Calvert school into an apartment building that is affordable for working young professionals received some positive action by the Planning Board on Monday night.

Rhode Island Foundation announces $3.6 million in new grants to support the ongoing work of six Health Equity Zones in the state, marking a sea change in investments in communities

Jef Benson was once a homeless addict who lost everything. He lived in a van in a used car lot, and in a shed behind a friend’s house in the middle of winter. “I lost my marriage, my home, my belongings, dignity, and self-respect,” he said. “I lost friends and even family members. Then, in 2006, I got clean. I was in Pennsylvania in 2010 and was hired in Rhode Island to help design a haunt. I ended up staying here and we started ‘Haunts for the Homeless.’”

Police today identified Donald Boucher of Newport as the 56-year-old man who was killed after the motorbike he was driving collided head-on with a Jeep on Monday morning on Valley Road. Boucher was an unsuccessful candidate for City Council in 2012 and a member of the Newport Zoning Board of Review from 2013-15. He was active in addressing the issues of homelessness as director of Housing First and homeless services at Riverwood Mental Health Services in Barrington and Providence.

They’re sometimes known as “in-law apartments” or “granny flats.” But Rhode Island law gives them a more formal name: accessory dwelling units. On Jan. 1, 2017, a change in state law went into effect, allowing owner-occupants of single-family homes to build these units by right for senior relatives ages 62 or older. Previously they were allowed by right only for disabled family members. Since the law changed, some residents have made inquiries about accessory dwelling units, according to local building and zoning officials. But only a small number have apparently gone ahead with plans to build them.