Date: 1988-06-09
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. 10 years ago the Neighborhood Housing Services network was like a long distance runner digging in his spikes for a strong. steady start. NHS was at work in only 36 neighborhoods. with just a small loan purchase pool for putting new money Into Its loan funds. Today. NHS the marathon runner Is just hitting its stride. fast and sure In a trek where there Is no end in sight. A decade after Its humble but hopeful beginnings. NHS serves 236 neighborhoods. and has created a true secondari market which has sold almost $30 million In notes backed by NHS loans to Institutional Investors. Compared to others making the same run. NHS was first out of the blocks and has remained far ahead ever since. In its goal of trying to stop neighborhood deterioration. NHS has succeeded like no others In creating a working strategy to not only put the brakes on deterioration. but in turning around troubled neighborhoods of choice. They have become an institution in 138 cities and rural communties across the country. local partnerships with more than 2.5 million residents working handinhand with more than 3.000 businesses and governments to revitalize neighborhoods In need from coast to coast. The success of NHS Is not only heartening to those of us who have dedicated much of their careers as public servants to trying to help the decaying among Americas cities. but it is a repudiation of those cynics who believe that productive partnerships between the public and private sectors is Impossible. NHSs accomplishments show that when the community Is in need. and there is a viable agent for improvement. cooperation of this sort is not only possible but incredibly fruitful. Take as an example the case of East Providence NHS. which has worked what I would term a miracle In the city of Riverside. Rhode Island. over the past eight or so years. In 1080. this townwhich had a long history as a stable. cohesive lower and moderate income communitywas experiencing rapid deterioration. More than 26 percent of the housing stock was severely run down. and while 65 percent of the homes were owner occupied. the area had the lowest median income In the Providence vicinity. Through NHS. the residents. local lenders and the city banded together to halt the deterioration of Riverside. Almost 9 years have passed since the inception of that partnership. and to walk down the streetsonce blighted and decaying. now rebuilt and blossomingis to witness the evidence of NHSs unqualified success. Areas with 80 to 100 percent deterioration have been wiped out entirely. and now only isolated units remain to be rohabilltated. And while the Riverside has boon physically restored. It has also been psychologically repaired. By involving the residents in the project. by giving them a genuine stake in the future of their neighborhood. NHS has produced a sense of newfound civic pride. Low interest loans. facade improvement grants and efforts to stimulate conventional lending are all vital. but without the commitment of individuals in the community. revitalization Is a near impossible task. By not Ignoring the human olement. NHS has discovered the secret ingredient that is often left out of recipes for revitalization. I am proud to have been one of the authors of the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation Act. the legislation that helpedlaunch the creation of the NHS network. I congratulate the NHS partnerships in Riverside and 135 other cities across our country for their outstanding work In Americas hurting neighborhoods.