NON PROFIT ORG.
US POSTAGE PAID
PROVIDENCE, RI
PERMIT # 354
66 Chaffee Street
Providence, RI 02909
phone: 401-351-8719
fax: 401-351-0019
email: [email protected]
web: www.olneyville.org
Olneyville Neighborhood News
A Publication of the
January 2013 Volume 9, Issue 1
The First Families Move into New
Olney Village Project!
Olneyville Neighborhood News / Noticias de Olneyville
January 2013 Volume 9, Issue 1
Check out the new
Olneyville Housing website!
Echa un vistazo a la nueva
página web de Olneyville Housing!
Our new website features an Olneyville Collaborative
directory of all 30+ member organizations, plus a
calendar where you can see what special events and
programs are happening in the neighborhood.
Nuestro nuevo sitio web incluye un directorio de la Colaborativa de Olneyville de 30 o más organizaciones que son miembros,
además de un calendario donde se pueden ver los eventos y
programas especiales que están sucediendo en el vecindario.
Go to http://www.olneyville.org/olneyville-collaborative/
Vaya a http://www.olneyville.org/olneyville-collaborative/
Member Organizations of the Olneyville Collaborative / Miembros de la Colaborativa
A Sweet Creation Youth Organization, Boys & Girls Clubs of Providence, Building Futures, Cathedral of Life Christian Assembly,
Childhood Lead Action Project, Children’s Friend, Clinica Esperanza/Hope Clinic, Dirt Palace, District 5 Police, English for Action, Environmental Justice League of RI, Fete Music, Habitat for Humanity of Rhode Island, Institute for the Study & Practice of
Nonviolence, Joslin Community Development Corporation, Joslin Recreation Center, Rhode Island LISC, Manton Avenue Project,
Meeting Street, Nickerson House Community Center, Olneyville Community Library, Olneyville Health Center, Olneyville Housing
Corporation, Olneyville Merchant Association, Olneyville Neighborhood Association, Providence After School Alliance, Providence
Housing Authority, Recycle-A-Bike, Social Venture Partners RI / Social Enterprise RI, Swearer Center / D’Abate Community School,
The Steel Yard, United Way of Rhode Island, William D’Abate Elementary School, Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council,
YMCA of Greater Providence, YouthBuild Providence
Olneyville Neighborhood News is published four times a year by the Olneyville Collaborative. It is distributed for free to homes,
businesses and other agencies in the Olneyville neighborhood. Its production is made possible by Olneyville Housing
Corporation, Rhode Island Department of Health, Our Neighborhoods, and by its advertisers. Submissions are welcome and
should be sent to Johanna Walczak at [email protected].
On November 1st Olneyville Housing Corporation welcomed Eleven more families are moving in this month, and the
rest of the units will be complete by the end of April.
six new families into the new Olney Village project, which
Olney Village also includes three community spaces for
is transforming 12 vacant foreclosed houses and several
local nonprofits, including a clubhouse
large vacant lots into 40 new affordable
for the Manton Avenue Project, which
rental apartments. These families were
is opening later this month, providing
able to move into their new rehabbed
them with programming space to teach
homes just in time for the holidays and
playwriting skills to Olneyville children. A
joined two families who purchased homes
new permanent facility for the St. Teresa’s
on Hyat Street.
Food Pantry is expected to be completed
in April, located at the corner of Manton
Olneyville Housing’s real estate
Avenue and Pope St. Keep an eye out for
development efforts have recently
an official ribbon cutting in the Spring to
focused on the area around the William
celebrate this major accomplishment!
D’Abate Elementary School, which was
one of the hardest hit in the country during the foreclosure
crisis. Our goal is to acquire foreclosed/abandoned homes, If you are interested in applying for an apartment in Olney
rehab them into healthy, safe housing stock, and reoccupy Village, contact our Property Manager, Carmen Soriano, at
(401) 351-8719 x105 to set up an appointment.
them with stable families to build a vibrant community.
This transformative effort produces visible results, while
-By Johanna Walczak
improving the quality of life for all neighborhood residents.
New CHEER Clinic Improves Access to Care
Walk-in clinic for uninsured patients with non-urgent
healthcare needs saves thousands of dollars
On Monday December 17th, Clinica Esperanza/Hope
Clinic (CEHC) announced the grand opening of its new
walk-in CHEER clinic, which will serve
Rhode Island’s uninsured population.
Located in the Olneyville neighborhood
of Providence, Clinica Esperanza
received a $40,000 grant from Blue
Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island
(Blue Cross) to support patients with
non-urgent healthcare needs, providing
an alternative to costly emergency
room care. Bobby Rodriguez, vice
president and chief diversity officer for
Blue Cross, said, “Walk-in clinics for the
uninsured are a critical part of Rhode Island’s healthcare
delivery system, and we’re grateful for the opportunity to
support Clinica Esperanza in its opening of the CHEER
clinic and mission to improve access to care and lower
healthcare costs.”
Forty-five percent of CEHC patients would have visited the
emergency room if they did not know about the CHEER
clinic. Over the past three months, the
CHEER clinic has treated over 160
patients, with an estimated savings
of $60,000 in out-of-pocket expenses
that may have resulted from an ER
visit. Many patients come in with
health issues such as sinus problems,
stomach pain or arthritis aches, which
can be effectively treated without
emergency room care. It’s important
that these patients, who all lack health
insurance, know that the CHEER clinic
is a viable option for healthcare services. It is also a place
for them to receive preventive care, such as blood pressure
Continued on page 3...
The CHEER clinic is open Monday through Friday from
2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at 60 Valley Street, Providence.
2
Olneyville Neighborhood News A publication of the Olneyville Collaborative
Fish Are Returning to the
Woonasquatucket River!
The Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council (WRWC)
has been working since 2004 to provide fish passage at the
first five dams on the Woonasquatucket River. There are
currently fish ladders at Riverside Park
and at Rising Sun Mills, near Donigian
Park, to allow fish such as shad and
herring, which migrate from salt water
to fresh, and eels, which migrate from
fresh water to salt, to move up and
down the lower river and to reach areas
where they can spawn.
IRS e-file is the most accurate, safest, and fastest
way to file your tax return. You can get your refund
in as little as 10 days. Our tax preparers
have an extremely high rate of accuracy!
Please call 351-8719 ext. 106 for an appointment.
This year the WRWC will build our last
fish passage structure on the lower river
at Manton Dam in Johnston. Instead of
a fish ladder, this will be a nature-like
fishway. You’ll be able to check it out
for yourself by the end of the summer
– just take a ride up the bike path, into
Johnston! With this structure in place,
we’ll have spawning habitat for 40,000
adult herring. That’s a very positive
change for the little Woony!
-By Amanda Blevins
Holidays
Councilwoman Sabina Matos and A Sweet Creation Youth
Organization (ASC) joined forces in November to have a
canned food drive to feed families for the holidays. Thirtysix families in Olneyville and South Providence received
bags and boxes of food and turkeys for the holiday season.
This effort was made possible by donations from The
Met High School, Providence Police Department, Lopco
Contracting, Local Union 1033 and a host of city councilors
and community leaders.
-By Pilar McCloud
Have you been wondering what all the digging around
the neighborhood is all about? What are all those
giant pipes being installed for? Eagle St., Delaine St.,
San Souci St., Manton Ave., and other sites around
Olneyville are under construction as part of Phase II
of the Combined Sewer Overflow Abatement Project
(CSO), by the Narragansett Bay Commission (NBC).
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause,
but we promise that this project has major long-term
benefits for the City of Providence and the waterways
of Rhode Island. Currently, whenever there are heavy
rains, raw sewage goes into the river and then to the
bay. This project is fixing that, so that sewage will go to
the treatment plant first, resulting in cleaner rivers and a
cleaner Narragansett Bay.
interceptors along the
Woonasquatucket River to
convey additional flow to the
tunnel. Phase II is anticipated
to be completed in early
2015. Until the project is
complete, please pardon the
construction and pay special
attention to any road closings
and temporary detours.
Anticipate heavy traffic on
Valley St., Manton Ave., and
Olneyville Square and plan
accordingly. We appreciate
your patience!
Phase I of the CSO project, completed in 2008, created
a large tunnel that captures untreated storm water and
sewage that would otherwise discharge into the Bay.
Since its completion, more than 4.5 billion gallons of
water have been captured and treated. NBC is currently
in Phase II of the CSO project, which is creating
For more information visit NBC’s website here:
www.narrabay.com
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/narrabay
Or twitter: narrabay
and cholesterol screenings, as well as immunizations.
The CHEER clinic at Clinica Esperanza is supported by
the volunteer efforts of college medical students from
Brown University and the University of Rhode Island (URI)
as well as other healthcare providers in the community.
URI undergraduate volunteer Adam Silva shared, “I can
honestly say I’ve never encountered a group of people
so dedicated and willing to give their time to help the
underserved and I am so grateful to be able to work
and partake in this experience for the benefit of all our
patients.”
The clinic serves uninsured patients. CHEER clinic is not
Ribs, Chicken,
Beef, Pork, Soups,
Sandwiches,
Salads, and
much more!
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3
18 Plainfield St.,Providence
Tel 401-621-9500
Photo courtesy Peter Goldberg for Narragansett Bay Commission
...CHEER Clinic (continued from page 1)
Put some
South in your
Mouth!
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Volume 9, Issue 1
Combined Sewer Overflow project in progress until Spring 2015
FREE Tax Return Coming Together to
Feed Families for the
Preparation!
How much did you pay last year for your income tax
return? Did you know that you can have your tax
return prepared by IRS trained, certified preparers, for
FREE, right here in Olneyville? The VITA (Volunteer
Income Tax Assistance) site at Olneyville Housing
Corporation, 66 Chaffee St., will open on January 22nd.
January 2013
Pardon the Construction!
herring at our second fish ladder at Riverside Park. That
means that more fish are returning to the Woonasquatucket
and that they are expanding their upstream habitat!
For three years, more than 40
volunteers have helped count river
herring in the spring, as they swim up
the fish ladders. In 2011, about 7,300 fish passed the first
fish ladder at Rising Sun Mills, near Donigian Park on Valley
Street. In 2012, almost 9,300 fish came across the Rising
Sun Mills ladder and our volunteers even spotted some
38 Dike St.
421-9090
intended to treat patients who might be experiencing
more serious health problems such as possible stroke,
broken bones or chest pain. For those patients who
do not speak English as a first language, the CHEER
clinic provides interpreter services for Spanish and other
languages upon request.
The CHEER clinic is open Monday through Friday
from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at 60 Valley Street,
Providence, RI 02909.
For more information visit our website at
http://www.aplacetobehealthy.org
-By Dr. Annie DeGroot
Eye Examinations & Quality Eyewear
American Eyeglass Center Inc.
Dr. Nancy J. Ragosta, OD
Elio Quaglieri, Optician
Most major carriers accepted
including Neighborhood Health Plan
( 401 ) 521 . 0102
1500 Atwood Ave #9, Johnston, RI
FREEWAY CAR WASH
“The first and still
the best full-service
car wash in
Rhode Island”
1880 Westminster St., Providence
621-7654