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Nearly 1,200 people cast their ballots in the state's largest participatory budgeting initiative, choosing projects totaling $1 million to help improve the health and well-being of their neighbors in Central Providence. The Nine Neighborhood Fund led the project, and from June 6-20 voters picked large and small projects to fund.
“There is no better exercise in representation than an election," said Anusha Venkataraman, Managing Director of Central Providence Opportunities: A Health Equity Zone. "I was so inspired to see such great community turnout and sincerely hope that other organizations and communities replicate the work we’re doing in Central Providence.”
Some of the major projects approved include providing bathrooms and plants in Donegan and Davis parks, providing peer mental health training for high school students in 02908/02909 zip codes, providing water filters to remove lead from water and providing education about lead safety, and improvements to bus stops. In total, those projects are projected to cost $880,000.
In addition, voters chose four small projects, including life skills classes for youth, food bearing tree planting, soccer for youth, and bike distribution and repair, for a total projects cost of $120,000.
Of the 1,187 people who voted, 923 were cast in person at 30 voting pop-up locations in Central Providence, while 264 were cast online at DecideRI.org. In addition, more than 200 young people voted for the first time in an election. Voting was encouraged for everyone 13 and older.
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