Contact: Michael J. Cerio | michael@ceriocommunications.com | (401) 743-8269
United Way of Rhode Island Statement on RI House of Representatives Housing Package
From Cortney Nicolato, President and CEO, United Way of Rhode Island:
“Progress toward addressing Rhode Island’s housing crisis is what our state needs now, and we are grateful to Speaker Shekarchi and the RI House of Representatives for not only making housing a priority, but for taking bold steps to initiate change with this proposed suite of housing bills.
The crisis our state finds itself in is not a problem that began overnight and is not one we can solve overnight. Production of safe housing at the scale we need requires intentional action and streamlining of processes that are too often barriers. The Speaker did well to engage with municipalities, who are on the frontlines of housing production, and in focusing on our need to be flexible in order to reap the benefits of the historic investments the Governor and state leadership made last year.
We know that everything interconnects with housing – the quality of education and strength of our workforce, the state’s economic vitality, the health of our families and neighbors, and our opportunities for the future. We also know that for every dollar invested into housing our state realizes a return more than fivefold. Creating more housing is a win-win for all Rhode Islanders.
This legislation, and many of the housing-related bills we are seeing this session, are building critical momentum that must be kept going. We applaud Speaker Shekarchi and our state representatives for their work on this important next phase and look forward to ramping up the pace this session and next so we can better move the needle in the direction our state needs.”