The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded Rhode Island a $3.8 million competitive grant to address the state’s housing crisis and help the state build more affordable units.
The funding will primarily go toward expanding the state’s Health Equity Zone (HEZ) housing program in Bristol and Washington counties, which is focused on providing accessible, supportive housing in communities burdened by housing costs.
The HEZ pilot program launched in July 2022 and aims to develop a pipeline of affordable housing units. Each participating community received funding to contract with a local community developer, public housing authorities, and other stakeholders to develop and plan the HEZ communities.
The federal grant builds on the $185 million in federal funding allocated for the PRO Housing grant program in 2024. The project is expected to provide more working Rhode Islanders with the ability to afford a safe and stable home.
The state’s housing shortage has been a persistent problem for years, dating back to 2016 when Roger Williams University’s HousingWorks RI report estimated that Rhode Island needed to build 34,610 to 40,230 housing units over the next decade.
According to the latest data, only half of those units have been built. The state has been ranked last in the U.S. for new permits issued per capita in 2023, indicating that the recent increase in supply has not been enough to meet demand.
The state’s PRO Housing application highlights the need for targeted interventions to address the housing crisis, including increasing supply, improving accessibility, and reducing the cost of housing.
The federal grant will help the state achieve its goals of providing more affordable housing options for working families and improve the housing outlook for Rhode Islanders.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) assisted a What’sUpNewp journalist with the reporting included in this story.
