Changemaker: Carla DeStefano
Executive Director, SWAP Inc./Stop Wasting Abandoned Property

Carla DeStefano says her organization has a simple mission: “Affordable housing and more of it.”

Carla DeStefano	PHOTO: LINDA WEISINGER

But, Carla’s job as executive director at SWAP Inc. (Stop Wasting Abandoned Property), a Fund member agency, is anything but simple. Carla orchestrates the work of one of Rhode Island’s busiest and most productive community development corporations.

It’s a job where the easy answers have disappeared along with much of the abandoned urban property that led to SWAP’s founding 30 years ago. In today’s hot housing market, creating more affordable housing means competing with, and often working with, for-profit developers to build housing for low- and moderate-income working Rhode Islanders. It means selling houses under $200,000 and renting apartments for less than $1,000 a month. It means creatively extending affordable housing to suburban and rural communities.

“Change comes from a strong team, thinking and working outside the box,” says Carla. “I lead a great team.” Today SWAP employs 13 full- and part-time staff. Several have been at SWAP for more than 10 years, including Gary Charpentier, head of design and construction, and Linda Weisinger, director of home ownership, who started as a college intern. Carla herself had a successful career in for-profit construction and residential real estate before joining SWAP 11 years ago. Many of the team have come from the private sector, but they have chosen this work for a number of reasons.

“Why are these people on my team?” asks Carla. “Because we are mission-driven. Because we build quality homes. Because we work hard and afford flexibility. Because most days it’s fun to come to work, and because we help people.”

Pine Street, where SWAP has its offices, is vivid evidence of the SWAP team’s impact. Freshly restored historic houses sporting window boxes of colorful flowers line the street where abandoned houses and littered vacant lots once reigned. That very success contributes to new challenges.

The most effective way to manage change is to create it. — Peter Drucker

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Last year, SWAP began work on 21 houses for affordable homeownership on two blocks near Potters Avenue, alongside 37 affordable rental apartments. This was one of the last masses of vacant properties in South Providence. When this project is complete, people will not recognize the streets. Families who have lived there for generations will no longer have to look out at littered vacant lots and dilapidated houses.

“In SWAP’s lifetime, we’ve gone from a neighborhood in crisis to an entire state in crisis over affordable housing,” Carla explains. The housing market exploded almost overnight as prices for homes to buy and apartments to rent skyrocketed.

SWAP has deep roots in South Providence and has more work planned. The organization will continue to manage the affordable apartments SWAP has created over the years and will continue to help increase the number of owner-occupied homes.

SWAP’s number one commitment is to Providence. But, Carla and her team are determined to play a role in Rhode Island’s answer to the wider housing crisis. Last year, SWAP began work on 50 affordable homes on 60 acres in West Greenwich. They hope to have the first houses ready to sell by the end of this year.

Poverty is a weapon of mass destruction.
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Creating affordable houses is one part of the answer. Helping qualified people buy them is another. SWAP conducts ongoing homebuyer education, where people who would like to become homeowners learn all about mortgages, insurance and smart house shopping. They also work on credit issues — the number one impediment for most people buying a home. Another SWAP program, the Neighborhood Contractor Mentoring Program, provides hands-on training and assistance to neighborhood and minority contractors looking to expand their businesses.

“SWAP has evolved into the organization it is today,” says Carla. She gives the members of her Board of Directors tremendous credit for that evolution. “They are all neighborhood activists. But, they are also experts in important areas like finance, real estate and banking. And they’re not afraid to buck the system now and then.”

“These are people willing to work hard,” she adds. “Long time SWAP board members never say, ‘We tried that and it doesn’t work.’ They say, ‘We tried that before — how can we make it work this time?’”

In Memory of Nancy Gewirtz

In 1997 The Fund presented Nancy Gewirtz with the Sister Carol McGovern “Voice for the Voiceless” Advocacy Award. Years later, after reading in the newspaper that it irritated her when she was publicly acknowledged with the “Voice for the Voiceless” title, I apologized to Nancy for not having known her feelings. She was quick to reassure me that it never bothered her to be recognized by The Fund as the late Sister Carol had been a devoted friend.

Nancy’s death in November, at age 59, left a wake of sorrow among all her colleagues in The Fund. She was the first chair of the R.I. Campaign to Eliminate Childhood Poverty and was one of the leading forces in the establishment of R.I. Parents for Progress. She was always available to write op-ed pieces, speak at rallies, and join marches and demonstrations. Her brilliance, humor and compassion will not be forgotten.

To ensure Nancy’s legacy, we will continue to support the legislative issues identified by the Poverty Institute, which she founded at Rhode Island College, and to struggle on with feisty determination toward social justice. . NHV

Save the Date Thursday, September 29 Dinner Roast of Lisa Churchville President and General Manager NBC 10 Rhodes-on-the-Pawtuxet 5:30–9:00 p.m. $50 per person RSVP 941-7100 Deadline September 16

Awards Celebration

Join us as The Fund celebrates its annual Awards Ceremony on Thursday, April 28, 5:30–7:00 p.m. at the Pawtucket Visitors Center, 175 Main Street, corner of Roosevelt Avenue, across from Slater Mill. Kindly reserve by phone (941-7100) or email campaign@fundcp.org  by Friday, April 22. $25 per person payable at the event. Thank you to sponsors Motley Rice LLC.

Christopher F. Koller PHOTO: DAVID O’CONNOR

Campaign ‘04 Chair Christopher F. Koller, Health Insurance Commissioner, state of R.I., will present awards to Brown University; Cavanagh Company; Citizens Bank; Lefkowitz, Garfinkel, Champi & DeRienzo; Lifespan; and R.I. Legal Services. Awards will also be given for Long Term Support, Media Spotlight, Sister Carol McGovern Advocacy “Voice for the Voiceless,” Susan Hamilton Welin for Nonviolence, and Board Member of the Year.

Roasting Bernie Beaudreau

Nearly 350 of Bernie Beaudreau’s admirers turned out to applaud and needle the head of the R.I. Community Food Bank at a dinner roast last October that netted more than $30,000 for The Fund.

Nondas Hurst Voll, Lisa Churchville and Bernie Beaudreau PHOTO: STEVE CONNORS

The highlight of the evening was a performance by Bernie’s son Phil and musician friends from the Boston Conservatory with a gentle lampoon, “Bernie Is Intense.” Bernie responded playing his guitar and singing his new anthem to The Fund: “We want leaders who listen to the people who speak, to change systems that crush us. Let’s take our country back to where the free have a voice here, oh yeah. And we don’t make a mockery of those who were brave.”

Alan Hassenfeld, chairman, Hasbro, Inc. was the Honorary Chairman. Lisa Churchville, president and general manager of NBC 10, was the M.C. Guy Abelson created the outstanding staging and decorations; Johnson & Wales University provided the excellent food services; Charlie Hall gave a hilarious skit tying foods to local politicians. Thank you to all the energetic committee members, sponsors, roasters and attendees for making our signature event such a memorable occasion. Special appreciation to Patricia O. Saracino of BankRI and Rosie Connors of the Food Bank for hours of volunteer effort to make the roast a great success.

Woonsocket Neighborhood Development Corporation received a $6.9 million loan from Citizens Bank to build affordable housing and commercial space on Front Street. This ambitious project will add 43 rental apartments plus mixed commercial and community storefronts. WNDC also received $625,000 from LISC to renovate an abandoned school into a child care center for 110 children. To celebrate Martin Luther King Day, WNDC hosted a parade with more than 300 people and held workshops, performances, a multi-cultural lunch, and a service project all based upon the teachings of Dr. King.

Greater Elmwood Neighborhood Services

Greater Elmwood Neighborhood Services rehabilitated 10 rundown, historic houses in Elmwood to provide 47 units of affordable housing. Providence Mayor David Cicilline traveled to Washington, D.C. to receive the national Terrence R. Duvernay HOME Program Award from the National Community Development Association for GENS’s Melrose Preservation Project.

All Children’s Theatre announces the winners of their 9th annual Youth Playwriting Competition. They are Raechel Doughty, Burrillville High School; Tim Patterson, School One, Providence; Jonathan Olivera, Beacon Charter School for the Arts, Woonsocket; and Ethan Rosenberg, Toll Gate High School, Warwick. Honorable Mention was awarded to Sarah Pariseau, Moses Brown School, Providence. Each winning playwright received $100 and the opportunity to have his or her play performed at ACT’s Youth Playwriting Festival.

All Children’s Theatre

ACORN Institute received a $35,000 grant from The Rhode Island Foundation to organize families on issues including education, financial literacy, predatory lending, and utilities in Providence, Pawtucket, Central Falls and Woonsocket. ACORN is providing free income tax assistance to people who may be eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit. Increased credit returns from all those eligible could pump an additional $10 million into the economy.

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ACORN Institute

Connecting for Children and Families and Family Resource/Community Action will receive a $750,000 grant over three years from Malcolm G. and Elizabeth Chace to establish a Family Support Network for low-income families in Woonsocket. The network will staff two drop-in centers and provide an array of services. Connecting for Children and Families also received a $25,000 grant from LISC for family childcare.

Mental Health Association of R.I.’s ACCESS-RI program, in its first year, has provided intensive case management to 38 clients, assisting 20 of them to find permanent and transitional housing. In addition, more than 300 homeless persons in Pawtucket and Greater Providence received outreach services. MHARI will celebrate its 89th anniversary with a luncheon on May 20th at the Providence Marriott. The guest speaker will be Cynthia Wainscott, Chair of the Board of Directors, National Mental Health Association.

Childhood Lead Action Project has trained 1,500 property owners on lead paint safety and new requirements under the Lead Hazard Mitigation Act of 2002. Owners of rental property have learned easy steps for maintaining lead-safe apartments, tenant notification procedures, changes in the insurance industry and other regulatory requirements. Future three-hour trainings are planned for residents of municipalities and home-based childcare providers. To learn more about the program, call Olga Granados at 785-1310 x201.

Truth is a torch that gleams through the fog. — Claude Adrien Helvetius
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Alliance for Better Long Term Care was in the news frequently over the past months following the closing of Hillside Health Center. Since 2001 Executive Director Roberta Hawkins complained on numerous occasions to the Department of Health about poor care and financial problems at that facility. This year legislation has been filed for greater transparency of finances, stronger enforcement, and better cooperation among agencies serving long term care clients.

CHisPA/Center for Hispanic Policy and Advocacy provided a holiday party and gifts for children last December. Toys for Tots and Brown University’s Third World Center donated toys. Other sponsors were NEPTCO, Panaderia Maya and Panaderia Guatepan.

West Elmwood Housing Development Corporation’s Robin Frye was appointed to the Providence School Board. WEHDC is coordinating a coalition of churches and community groups to help neighborhood residents achieve homeownership. Called FaithWorks, the program offers free financial seminars on budgeting, credit, savings and counseling on homeownership.

R.I. Coalition for Minority Investment’s Denise Barge has been re-appointed to the board of Rhode Island Housing. She was the featured speaker at Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, an international black fraternity, when it held its Achievement Week awards banquet in Providence last fall.

NRI Community Services is hosting its third annual Community Champions Music Series at Chan’s in Woonsocket. Featured will be Planet Groove on April 28, Eight to the Bar on May 26 and the James Montgomery Band on June 30. For information and tickets, call 235-7152.

To learn how your support is creating change, visit www.fundcp.org and click on Press Articles. You can keep up on breaking news, as we update this section daily.