Housing Network of Rhode Island announces 2018 awardees, annual meeting

PROVIDENCE – The Housing Network of Rhode Island will mark a year of progress in affordable housing at its annual meeting on May 21, where it will honor its 2018 awardees.

The awards celebrate the contributions that partners have made to the Housing Network, a state association that comprises 20 Rhode Island nonprofit community development corporations that address the state’s housing needs.

“The awards are really important pieces about how we celebrate our work on an annual basis,” said the Housing Network’s executive director Melina Lodge.

Clark Schoettle, Geoffrey Marchant, Jean Johnson and Lou Raymond will be given the Francis H. Smith award, given to those with a commitment to the development of affordable housing and neighborhood revitalization.

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Richard Godfrey will be given the Joseph A. Caffey Award, named in honor of the president of Providence-based Omni Development Corp., which specializes in affordable housing.

“The award focuses on somebody who has demonstrated leadership in the community development fiend as a whole,” Lodge said.

Will Farrell will be named with the Friend of the Network Award, awarded to exceptional supporters of the Housing Network. Farrell has worked to bring awareness around the housing bond campaign in the last year. “He’s been really instrumental in helping us,” Lodge said.

The Housing Network will give the Housing Innovation Award to a collaborative consisting of Bank of America, Bristol County Savings Bank, Housing Resources Commission, LISC-RI, NeighborWorks America, the Rhode Island Foundation, and United Way of Rhode Island, which have contributed to the Housing Opportunities Initiative, a cross-sector collaboration that aims to think about housing in innovative ways.

“They want to help rebuild the system, and they’ve made the commitments financially to that,” Lodge added.

The event will be held at Rooftop at the Providence G, located at 100 Dorrance St. in Providence. Tickets to the event are available through Eventbrite.

Kate Talerico is a PBN contributing writer.