Housing UpdatesBay Street Apartments in Laconia: We are happy to announce that Bauen Corporation of Meredith was selected to be the construction manager for this project containing 12 efficiency units of supportive housing, in partnership with Lakes Region Mental Health Center. Groundbreaking is planned for June. Harriman Hill III in Wolfeboro: This 30-unit general occupancy project is scheduled to go out to bid later this month, with a closing and groundbreaking planned for July. The project will include a mix of unit sizes, including five one-bedroom units of supportive housing in partnership with Northern Human Services. Gale School UpdatesWe continue making progress on our financing structure for this $4 million rehabilitation of the historic Gale School in Belmont, including selling the supplemental NH tax credits awarded to the project in December. Thank you to the NH tax credit donors featured here! Once renovated, the Gale School will be home to an early learning center operated by the Boys & Girls Club of Central and Northern NH and a new program center for Lakes Region Community Services. Northway Bank recently purchased $25,000 in NH tax credits to support redevelopment of the Gale School. Pictured above are Chris Dickinson, Senior Vice President, Chief Commercial Banking Officer, and Carmen Lorentz, LRCD Executive Director. Thank you to MVSB for also purchasing $25,000 in Gale School tax credits! Pictured above from left to right: Jason Hicks, EVP Chief Financial Officer, Cindy Hemeon-Plessner, SVP Chief Marketing & Experience Officer, Lori Borrin, VP Mortgage Loan Officer, Marcus Weeks, MVSB President, and Carmen Lorentz. Save the Date! NH Gives June 11-12Help us prevent homelessness! We are once again participating in NH Gives coming up June 11-12, and we would appreciate your support. Mark your calendar for June 11 at 5pm when the 24 hour window to make your donation opens. Visit our fundraising page HERE to learn more about what, or more importantly, who we're working for. Don't want to wait to support us? We welcome donations year round! Head to our donate page for more. Thank you to these awesome match sponsors for our NH Gives campaign! Support LRCD Through Target Circle ProgramFriendly reminder! We have been chosen to participate in a special charitable giving campaign, sponsored and funded by Target. And you have the chance to help direct a portion of Target’s donation to us!
Now through June 30th, vote for us through the Target Circle program to help determine how Target’s donation will be divvied up. Find out more about Target Circle HERE. We’re asking our supporters to help us make the most of this incredible opportunity. Every vote counts to help us receive a portion of the available Target funds as we continue our mission to create opportunities for the Lakes Region to thrive by developing healthy homes, creating vibrant community assets, and engaging residents. Don’t forget, as you earn more votes, you can keep voting multiple times during the campaign! Thank you for your support, and we encourage you to share your support for us (and your thanks to Target) on social media throughout the duration of the voting! By respecting and appreciating the diversity within our LRCD communities, we can empower everyone to live their best life and promote equity and justice for all of our residents. We hope you enjoy these resources and events that help you learn about and celebrate the beauty in our differences, while acknowledging our shared humanity. Mental Health Awareness Month was established in 1949 to increase awareness of the importance of mental health and wellness in Americans’ lives and to celebrate recovery from mental illness. According to NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness), 1 in 5 adults in the US lives with a mental health condition. This month, we encourage you to “Take the Moment” to prioritize mental health care without guilt or shame for yourself or someone you care about by exploring the following resources. Call/text/chat 988 If you or someone you care about is experiencing a mental health and/or substance use crisis, you can call/text/chat 988 and speak to trained and caring clinical staff 24/7. NAMI New Hampshire NAMI New Hampshire is a grassroots organization that provides information, education and support to all families and communities affected by mental illness and suicide. Looking for support? Come to a NAMI NH Support Group and make important connections to others who:
LOCAL MENTAL HEALTH PROVIDERSThe following organizations provide mental / behavioral health care services in the Lakes Region:
Mid-State Health Center 101 Boulder Point Dr, Suite 1, Plymouth 603-536-4000 HealthFirst 22 Strafford St, #1, Laconia 603-366-1070 Lakes Region Mental Health Center 40 Beacon St E, Laconia 81 Highland St, Plymouth 603-524-1100 Northern Human Services 70 Bay Street, Wolfeboro 603-569-1884 Psychology Today’s “Find a Therapist” Tool is another way to find a local mental health professional. Support LRCD through Target Circle ProgramWe are honored and excited to announce that we have been chosen to participate in a special charitable giving campaign, sponsored and funded by Target. And you have the chance to help direct a portion of Target’s donation to us! Now through June 30th, vote for us through the Target Circle program to help determine how Target’s donation will be divvied up. Find out more about Target Circle HERE. We’re asking our supporters to help us make the most of this incredible opportunity. Every vote counts to help us receive a portion of the available Target funds as we continue our mission to create opportunities for the Lakes Region to thrive by developing healthy homes, creating vibrant community assets, and engaging residents. Don’t forget, as you earn more votes, you can keep voting multiple times during the campaign! Thank you for your support, and we encourage you to share your support for us (and your thanks to Target) on social media throughout the duration of the voting! LRCS 2024 Community Partner AwardWe are so proud to share that LRCD was presented with a Lakes Region Community Services (LRCS) Community Partner Award on Thursday, April 11. Community Partner Award recipients are nominated by LRCS employees, and each year a winner is selected from those nominees and recognized at their annual celebration. According to the letter we received from LRCD, "Nominees are businesses, organizations, and individuals in the community deemed to have supported LRCS and its mission in an extraordinary way and being a difference-maker in our community." We are honored to be one of three recipients of the 2024 Community Partners Award! Accepting the award on behalf of LRCD were Carrie Duran (left), LRCD Board Chair and Kara LaSalle, LRCD Real Estate Development Director (right). Housing Advocate: Northway BankThank You Northway Bank! We are so grateful for your support. We need the financial support of our local business community in order to produce more units of affordable housing for essential workers. Most housing developments that we undertake cost us $150,000 to $300,000 before we can get a shovel in the ground. Email CLorentz@LRcommunitydevelopers.org today if your business would like to be a Housing Champion or Advocate. Pictured: Chris Dickinson, Northway Bank Senior Vice President, Chief Commercial Banking Officer with LRCD Executive Director, Carmen Lorentz showcasing Northway Bank's generous donation. Greater Lakes Region Charitable Fund for Children GrantLakes Region Community Developers (LRCD) is proud to announce we were recently awarded a $25,000 grant from the Greater Lakes Region Charitable Fund for Children. The grant will help support LRCD’s Affordable Housing Program, which is responsible for developing and managing affordable rental housing throughout the Lakes Region. READ MORE... Annual Impact ReportWe are so proud of the work we do! While there is still more progress to be made, we invite you to explore our 2023 Impact Report to learn more about the needs of our community as well as our accomplishments over the last year. View the full report by clicking the image below. Harriman Hill III UpdateThings are moving along at a good pace on Harriman Hill III, our 30-unit project in Wolfeboro. This project is the third and final phase of the Harriman Hill development, which is a partnership with Eastern Lakes Region Housing Coalition. Phases I and II were built in 2012 and 2014, and contain a total of 48 units. For Phase III, construction drawings are under development. We continue to work with NH Housing, NH Community Development Finance Authority, MVSB, and Evernorth to get all the financing lined up. We hope to put the project out to bid in May, with the goal of starting construction this summer. Bay Street UpdateWe continue moving forward on 17 Bay Street where we plan to construct a new building with 12 efficiency units of supportive housing in partnership with Lakes Region Mental Health Center. Over the past three months, we’ve finished construction drawings, put the project out to bid, updated the project budget, and secured an InvestNH grant (subject to Governor & Council approval) to help with demolition costs. Thank you to the City of Laconia for submitting the InvestNH application.
We continue to work with NH Housing, NH Community Development Finance Authority, and NeighborWorks Capital to close on all our financing. Thank you to Belknap County for applying for the Community Development Block Grant for this project. We hope to begin demolition and clean-up of the site before summer. Lakes Region Community Developers (LRCD) is proud to announce they were recently awarded a $25,000 grant from the Greater Lakes Region Charitable Fund for Children. The grant will help support LRCD’s Affordable Housing Program, which is responsible for developing and managing affordable rental housing throughout the Lakes Region. According to NH Housing’s “2023 Residential Rental Cost Survey,” the median rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Belknap County is $1,556. Only 4% of two-bedroom units in Belknap County are considered affordable to the average renter household. People of low income are being squeezed out of the local housing market altogether due to the lack of supply of affordable apartments. This grant from the Greater Lakes Region Children’s Auction will aid LRCD in continuing to operate its existing portfolio of affordable rental apartments, which provide safe and healthy housing for approximately 315 children in the Lakes Region. In addition, this funding will help LRCD develop new housing in Ashland and Wolfeboro. “The Lakes Region desperately needs more affordable rental apartments for families of low income,” says LRCD Executive Director, Carmen Lorentz. “As a non-profit developer of affordable housing, we are proud of our work in doing all we can to meet the needs of the community and are so thankful to the Greater Lakes Region Charitable Fund for Children for its support.” About the Greater Lakes Region Charitable Fund for Children: Numerous fundraising events throughout the year support the Greater Lakes Region Charitable Fund for Children, including their four-day signature Children’s Auction event every December. In the past four decades, the Fund has distributed more than $8.6 million to over 80 nonprofits that serve low-income families and children in the Lakes Region, all through volunteer efforts, community donations, and corporate sponsorship. The Children’s Auction falls under the umbrella of the Greater Lakes Region Charitable Fund for Children, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that helps local community organizations that serve children and families in need. For more information about the Auction, the nonprofits it supports and how you can help, visit ChildrensAuction.org. Photo Caption: Lakes Region Community Developers Executive Director, Carmen Lorentz accepts grant award check from Greater Lakes Region Charitable Fund for Children Executive Director, Jenn Kelley
By respecting and appreciating the diversity within our LRCD communities, we can empower everyone to live their best life and promote equity and justice for all of our residents. We hope you enjoy these monthly blogs with resources and events that help you learn about and celebrate the beauty in our differences, while acknowledging our shared humanity. Autism Acceptance Month is recognized annually in April. What started as “Autism Awareness Month” in 1970 has evolved over time. The autistic community continues to advocate for more than awareness, striving for public acceptance and celebration to ensure all people can access the support they need in order to thrive. Many of us have a narrow understanding of autism and autistic people. This Autism Acceptance Month, we invite you to explore the resources below to expand your knowledge, find resources that may be useful if you think you or someone you care about may be autistic, and identify ways you can become an ally to autistic people in your community. Some helpful resourcesAutistic Self-Advocacy Network (ASAN)
Autistic Self Advocacy Network (autisticadvocacy.org) ASAN seeks to advance the principles of the disability rights movement with regard to autism. They believe that the goal of autism advocacy should be a world in which autistic people enjoy equal access, rights, and opportunities. ASAN published a great online book written by and for autistic people to help explain many things about autism. If you are autistic, think you might be autistic, or if you want to better understand autistic people, this is a great resource for you. Read the Book – Welcome to the Autistic Community (autismacceptance.com) Embrace Autism Embrace Autism | The ultimate autism resource (embrace-autism.com) Dissatisfied with the lack of information available on autism in adults, a group of autistic people founded Embrace Autism in 2018. Their goal is to distribute research and experience-based information on autism. They write, “Quality autism information can help us make sense of our lives, it can help us discover who we are and the amazing potential we have, and it can help us acknowledge the beauty and splendor in ourselves and each other.” Association for Autism and Neurodiversity (AANE) AANE Homepage - AANE AANE helps autistic and similarly neurodivergent people build meaningful, connected lives. They provide individuals, families, and professionals with education, community and support in an inclusive atmosphere of validation and respect. |