RFI: Community Development Program and Healthy Housing, Healthy Communities Funding

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
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Posting Date: Tuesday, September 15, 2026
Response Submission Deadline: Tuesday, October 13, 2026
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
This RFI seeks external responses and information on program design, interest, and general
feedback on the agency's Community Development Program and Healthy Housing, Healthy
Communities Funding.
RIHousing has allocated funding for both programs, enabling the agency to support innovative and
useful programs and activities that complement the affordable housing it funds. The intention of
these funds is to support residents living in RIHousing-financed developments by improving their
quality of life, increasing self-sufficiency, and improving health outcomes. Funds cannot be used for
operating support or capital activities.
For both topics, RIHousing hopes to hear from stakeholders working with residents of RIHousing-
financed developments, and/or from the residents themselves, to better understand which types of
programs and activities would be most useful.
Community Development Program
Since 2015, RIHousing has awarded community development funds intended to support programs
and activities that largely support residents living in developments financed by RIHousing. These
activities have varied over the years and have included programming such as: financial literacy,
homebuyer education, resident service coordination, youth programming, and workforce
development. Funding has also supported activities such as purchasing fitness and computer
equipment, and making green infrastructure improvements. As we consider issuing another
Community Development Program RFP, we would like to gather feedback on what programming
and activities would be useful to housing developments financed by RIHousing.
Healthy Housing, Healthy Communities Funding
In 2024, RIHousing created the Health and Housing Pilot Program to support programs developed
in partnership between RIHousing-financed developments and healthcare organizations to co-locate
or care coordinate with healthcare services to assist residents with healthcare needs. Three rounds of
funding have been awarded, and RIHousing is currently evaluating these pilot sites to assess the
effectiveness of this model in helping residents stay healthy and stably housed. While we conduct the
evaluation over the next three years, we are interested in learning if there are other needs for program
funding that connect health and housing. We seek feedback on which activities and programs would
be useful to target.

RFP/RFQ Title:
Respondent Name:
INSTRUCTIONS
Responses are to be submitted via email to: Stacy Wasserman, Innovation Program Manager at
swasserman@rihousing.com no later than the submission deadline set forth above.
All questions regarding this RFI must be made in writing and submitted via email to Stacy
Wasserman at swasserman@rihousing.com prior to the submission deadline.
NOTE TO RESPONDENTS:
Please be advised that all responses may be made available to the public on request pursuant to
the Rhode Island Access to Public Records Act, Chapter 2 of Title 38 of the Rhode Island General
Laws (the "APRA") upon award of a contract(s). Respondents are advised not to include
information that they deem proprietary or confidential or that constitutes a trade secret.
With your response, please provide a description of the organization you represent. Please also include
the name, business telephone number and email of a representative of your organization authorized
to discuss your response.
Request for Information
Below are prompted questions that RIHousing seeks specific feedback on; however, feedback on
topics or ideas not specifically requested is welcome.
Community Development Program
1. Has there been an increased need for certain programming or activities in the past few
years for residents? In which ways do residents seem to be struggling, and what solutions
do you feel would be useful?
2. When considering the type of programming to offer, we would be interested in funding
activities that have positive outcomes for residents. Such as improving on-time rent
payments, increasing workforce participation, reducing reliance on government assistance,
and increasing self-sufficiency. Are there specific activities or programming you would like
to see funded that would be working towards these outcomes? And are there other
outcomes you would like to see addressed through this program?
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RFP/RFQ Title:
Respondent Name:
3. Would you be interested in funding for software to help administer housing programs? If
yes, what sort of software would be useful, and is there a specific software you are aware
of that would meet your needs?
4. Were there previous RIHousing community development activities that were effective and
which you would like to see funded again?
5. Have there been any implemented or proposed policy changes on the federal level that are
connected to residents of affordable housing, or households with housing vouchers, that
this funding could help address?
6. Is there any other feedback you would like to share?
Healthy Housing, Healthy Communities
1. While RIHousing will not be funding any new health and housing pilot sites during the
ongoing evaluation, the agency is interested in continuing to support improving the health
outcomes of residents. What programs and activities would be useful to support the
integration of healthcare into housing?
2. For housing entities, would funding for software to help bill Medicaid for eligible expenses
related to supportive services delivery and track related outcomes be a worthwhile idea? If
yes, please explain why, and whether there is any specific software you are aware of that
would meet that need.
3. For those currently or interested in billing Medicaid for supportive services, what are the
biggest challenges of being able to bill?
4. Is there any other feedback you would like to share?
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