AWARDS and RECOGNITIONS

Department of Housing and Urban Development Best Practices Nomination:
• North & Gilsum Defensible Spaces

NAHRO National Awards of Merit:

1998
• Family Planning Collaborative – Program Innovation*

2000
• North & Gilsum Defensible Spaces – Project Design
• Riverbend Conservation Easement – Project Design
• Monadnock Community Network – Program Innovation

2001
• Safety Net Program – Project Innovation*
• North Street Nature Park – Project Design*

* Nominated for National Award of Excellence

GRANTS RECEIVED IN 2002

• The New Hampshire Land and Community Investment Program (LCHIP) awarded the Keene Housing Authority $85,000 to help preserve and restore the historic Mill Buildings

• The Cheshire County Commissions Division for Children, Youth, and Families Incentive Fund awarded monies to help provide services to prevent out-of-home placements of juveniles.

• Monadnock Community Foundation a division of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation awarded a grant to develop and implement an Employment Retention Program.

GRANTS RECEIVED IN 2001

• The Department of Housing and Urban Development Resident Opportunity and Self-Sufficiency Program Grant (ROSS) was awarded to increase space at the Harmony Lane Clubhouse/Family Activity Center.

• The State of New Hampshire Office of Family Services, Children, Youth and Families, Child Development Bureau awarded a grant for training and equipment.

• The Cheshire County Commissions Division for Children, Youth, and Families Incentive Fund awarded The Clubhouse monies to help provide services to prevent out-of-home placements of juveniles.

• Funding for a feasibility study for the expansion of the Keene Day Care Center through the Community Development Block Grant Program was awarded.

• Renovation of a Single Room Occupancy project was funded through the Community Development Block Grant Program.

• The Mill Building project, moving and rehabilitation of two historic brick houses for use at the elderly housing site, was awarded a Community Development Block Grant.

GRANTS RECEIVED IN 2000

• Women’s Write was funded by the Women’s Fund of NH. Facilitated by staff, impromptu writing enables women to identify sources of their strength and challenge barriers they face in becoming self-sufficient. Women’s Write increases the voice of the marginalized by providing a forum for women to tell their stories.

• Monadnock Community Foundation a division of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation awarded a grant to provide trainers and support for educational computer programs focused on basic keyboarding, word processing, Internet access, email use, databases and spreadsheets. Classes are structured to serve two populations - persons seeking to improve their economic opportunities administered through the Resident Self Reliance Program and those who may have limited or no computer experience that is administered by the Congregate Housing Services Program. Both programs' primary objective is to increase the ability of low-income residents to participate more fully in community life, both economically and socially.

• The Keene Housing Authority received funding for the Resident Self Reliance Program awarded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development under the Resident Opportunity and Self-Sufficiency (ROSS) Program. The three-year competitive award was made to supplement staffing costs.

• The Cheshire County Commissions Division for Children, Youth, and Families Incentive Fund awarded The Clubhouse monies to help provide services to prevent out-of-home placements of juveniles.

• In September 2000, the Cheshire County Commissioners awarded Community Youth Profile monies to Keene Housing Authority for services to benefit the youth of Cheshire County.

• Community Development Block Grant Funds were used to allow Rise…for baby and family to purchase, rehabilitate, and construct an addition to its new location on Washington Street.

• A $1 million Community Development Block Grant for Monadnock Economic Development Corporation was administered by Keene Housing Authority staff. Construction of a new 56,000 square foot industrial building allowed a local manufacturer to consolidate its operations and increased the tax base in Keene in addition to providing additional employment opportunities.

• Awarded in 2000 and completed in 2001 was the rehabilitation of two group homes for persons with mental illness through Community Development Block Grant funding.