State entities award grants to East Providence walking trail projects

City HEZ receives support; BankRI backs local non-profits

Posted 7/19/21

EAST PROVIDENCE — The city received some very good news on the grant front last week when two projects in East Providence were among 22 statewide to receive a portion of $1.4 million in monies …

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State entities award grants to East Providence walking trail projects

City HEZ receives support; BankRI backs local non-profits

Posted

EAST PROVIDENCE — The city received some very good news on the grant front last week when two projects in East Providence were among 22 statewide to receive a portion of $1.4 million in monies from the Rhode Island Departments of Environmental Management and Transportation.

One to construct a new parking lot at the Grassy Plains Park trailhead, along with a mile and a half of mixed biking and hiking trails and a half-mile long fully accessible paved trail will receive $72,030. Also, the city will get $11,000 towards a project to install kiosks at Willett Pond trail, Hunt’s Mills trail, Turner Reservoir Loop trail and Boyden Heights Conservation Area trailheads.

The Recreational Trails Program is funded through the Federal Highway Administration and is administered in Rhode Island by DEM and RIDOT. Funding through this program may be used to create new recreational trails, as well as restore and improve existing recreational trails, for both hikers and other trail users. The grants provide up to 80 percent of the cost for eligible project components that promote and enhance trail-based recreation. The grant application period opened last winter and the Trails Advisory Committee, which includes representatives of trail user groups as well as State agencies, conducted detailed analyses of each proposal.

Also from the state, the Rhode Island Executive Office of Health & Human Services (EOHHS) and the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) announced $775,000 in funding for six teams participating in Rhode to Equity - an innovative opportunity made available through EOHHS's Health Systems Transformation Project (HSTP) and RIDOH, including one in East Providence.

The East Providence HEZ (Health and Equity Zone) is partnering with the East Bay Community Action Program and Integrated Health Partners to continue their efforts from the Diabetes Health Equity Challenge to continue their Produce to People program, connecting individuals managing diabetes with fresh produce.

The intent of the 12-month learning and action collaborative is to provide the teams an opportunity to test and evaluate strategies that will build leadership and operational capacity for clinical-community linkages and to enhance place-based initiative’s ability to improve both health and social outcomes.

Non-profits based here, as well, were on the receiving end of some positive grant funding.

BankNewport's distribution of $212,000 in donations focused on food insecurity, health services, education and skills training and underserved populations included a $7,500 grant to the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra and Music School along with $7,000 to the East Bay Food Pantry.

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A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.