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Governor Charlie Baker helps break ground on Envision Bank Home for Veterans Father Bill’s & MainSpring will own/operate new home for 10 formerly homeless veterans [RANDOLPH, Mass., October 3, 2019] Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, Department of Veterans’ Services Secretary Francisco Ureña, and Department of Housing and Community Development Undersecretary Janelle Chan were among the officials and community leaders who gathered in Randolph on Thursday, Oct. 3 to celebrate the groundbreaking of a new property that will be home to 10 formerly homeless veterans. Approximately 200 people attended the groundbreaking, which was co-hosted by Envision Bank and Father Bill’s & MainSpring (FBMS). Once built, the home at 26 Moulton St. – named the Envision Bank Home for Veterans – will hold 10 permanent supportive housing units for formerly homeless individuals. All of the apartments will have a preference for military veterans. The efficiency-style apartments are being built on the vacant parcel of land located behind the Envision Bank branch in downtown Randolph. The bank and its foundation are selling the land – valued at $225,000 – to FBMS for $1 and will provide a $500,000 grant as well as permanent financing to support the $2.57 million project, which is expected to start welcoming tenants in the fall of 2020. Other funding sources for the project include $1.46 million from the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development and $75,000 from MassHousing Center for Community Recovery Innovations (CCRI). FBMS is raising $235,000 in additional funding. “The Commonwealth leads the nation in services and supports for veterans and their families, and we are enormously proud of that. We’ve partnered with many organizations over the course of the past four or five years to enhance and improve our housing stock for our veterans. And this project fits right into the mold of others that have been done,” Governor Charlie Baker said. “The ‘community’ part of community bank matters, and it matters a lot to Envision Bank. That’s why Envision Bank was a big part of making this happen. This notion of finding state support, in some cases federal support, in some cases private support, and a terrific partner, like Father Bill’s & MainSpring, to put together supportive housing for veterans is absolutely the formula that’s been used over and over again for many years here in Massachusetts.” “As a community bank we seek ways to partner with other community organizations to have a meaningful impact in the lives of those we serve. We have long believed that our Veterans are a community where we want to focus our work. Programs that support Veterans are a key area of focus for the Foundation and the Bank. Our Veterans give so much to protect our way of life in America when they choose to serve in the Armed Forces,” Jim McDonough, President and CEO of Envision Bank, said. “When they return to civilian life it is our goal to ensure they have the support they need, especially in the area of housing. We are honored to be able to partner with Father Bill’s & MainSpring on this project that will ensure at least 10 Veterans, who would otherwise be homeless, will have the safety and security of a place to call home. While we know we cannot change the world, we believe we can change our small part of it for the better with like-minded organizations committed to supporting our Veterans and their families.” In recent years, the administration of Gov. Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito has awarded grants to two other FBMS developments: Jack’s Place & Patti’s House, which opened in 2016 and holds 20 apartments for formerly homeless individuals, including 10 veterans, and a two-family duplex for formerly homeless families; and Montello Welcome Home Again, which opened last December and is home to 23 formerly homeless individuals, including 12 veterans. “Today’s groundbreaking of the Envision Bank Home for Veterans is another opportunity to improve the lives of veterans. Thanks to the Baker-Polito administration, Father Bill’s & MainSpring, and Envision Bank for their partnership to honor the sacrifices of our Commonwealth’s veterans,” said Department of Veterans’ Services Francisco A. Ureña. “This project is another example why Massachusetts leads the nation in support for our veterans.” “Our veterans face many challenges when they transition back into civilian life, but finding stable housing should not be one of them. Father Bill’s & MainSpring is a national leader in the Housing First model and a vital partner for the Department of Housing and Community Development. As a shelter provider for homeless families and individuals and as a developer of new affordable housing, they put vulnerable households on the path to permanent housing,” said Department of Housing and Community Development Undersecretary Janelle Chan. “We are proud to support this project with funding through our Supportive Housing Awards in 2019, and witness their successes. We are confident the Envision Bank Home for Veterans will provide excellent services for veterans transitioning out of homelessness, and look forward to celebrating more milestones with them.” FBMS, a regional provider of services and housing designed to prevent and end homelessness, currently operates more than 500 permanent supportive housing units across Southern Massachusetts. On average, 99 percent of FBMS tenants stay housed at least one year, while 93 percent of tenants stay housed at least three years. “We are very grateful to the administration of Gov. Baker and Lt. Gov Polito, to Envision Bank and its Foundation, to our project funders, and to our supporters throughout the region who are helping FBMS create innovative and cost-effective solutions to one of the most complex problems facing our communities,” John Yazwinski, President & CEO of FBMS, said. “Creating more supportive housing is the best way to end homelessness – plain and simple. Together, with projects like the Envision Bank Home for Veterans, we are letting our most vulnerable neighbors know that their long-term health and well-being are a priority and that nobody who served our country should be homeless.” The new Randolph house will provide on-site case management and supportive services to help tenants gain the skills needed to become more independent. Two of the apartments will be wheelchair accessible and one will be adapted for hearing/sight impairments. “For nearly three years we have been on the journey to this moment,” Lou Trubiano, Chairman of the Envision Bank Foundation Board of Directors, said. “It is an honor to be able to celebrate today’s groundbreaking with the entire team at Father Bill’s & MainSpring. I am proud of the Foundation’s commitment to building 10 units of quality housing for our Veterans. It would not be possible without the Governor’s commitment to this effort as well as the state departments which have dedicated the important funding sources necessary to bring this endeavor to reality. This is a great example of what can be achieved when the private sector, government, and non-profits work together with a shared vision for change.” About Envision Bank Founded in 1851, Envision Bank is a Massachusetts-based community bank, committed to proactively helping consumers and business owners simplify their financial lives. It operates six full-service locations, three lending centers, and seven mortgage production offices in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and southern New Hampshire and can serve anyone in New England online at www.envisionbank.com. The bank is a top regional mortgage lender, as well as a provider of cash management and financing solutions to commercial businesses. NASDAQ: RNDB About Father Bill’s & MainSpring Father Bill’s & MainSpring (FBMS) is the leading provider of services to prevent and end homelessness in Southern Massachusetts. The agency, founded in the early 1980s by a group of interfaith and community leaders, helps more than 6,700 people annually who are experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness. FBMS, a proud partner of the United Way of Greater Plymouth County and the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit agency with administrative offices in Quincy and Brockton and program offices throughout Southern Massachusetts. For more information, visit www.helpfbms.org.
Governor Charlie Baker helps break ground on Envision Bank Home for Veterans Father Bill’s & MainSpring will own/operate new home for 10 formerly homeless veterans
[RANDOLPH, Mass., October 3, 2019] Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, Department of Veterans’ Services Secretary Francisco Ureña, and Department of Housing and Community Development Undersecretary Janelle Chan were among the officials and community leaders who gathered in Randolph on Thursday, Oct. 3 to celebrate the groundbreaking of a new property that will be home to 10 formerly homeless veterans.
Approximately 200 people attended the groundbreaking, which was co-hosted by Envision Bank and Father Bill’s & MainSpring (FBMS). Once built, the home at 26 Moulton St. – named the Envision Bank Home for Veterans – will hold 10 permanent supportive housing units for formerly homeless individuals. All of the apartments will have a preference for military veterans.
The efficiency-style apartments are being built on the vacant parcel of land located behind the Envision Bank branch in downtown Randolph. The bank and its foundation are selling the land – valued at $225,000 – to FBMS for $1 and will provide a $500,000 grant as well as permanent financing to support the $2.57 million project, which is expected to start welcoming tenants in the fall of 2020. Other funding sources for the project include $1.46 million from the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development and $75,000 from MassHousing Center for Community Recovery Innovations (CCRI). FBMS is raising $235,000 in additional funding. “The Commonwealth leads the nation in services and supports for veterans and their families, and we are enormously proud of that. We’ve partnered with many organizations over the course of the past four or five years to enhance and improve our housing stock for our veterans. And this project fits right into the mold of others that have been done,” Governor Charlie Baker said. “The ‘community’ part of community bank matters, and it matters a lot to Envision Bank. That’s why Envision Bank was a big part of making this happen. This notion of finding state support, in some cases federal support, in some cases private support, and a terrific partner, like Father Bill’s & MainSpring, to put together supportive housing for veterans is absolutely the formula that’s been used over and over again for many years here in Massachusetts.”
“As a community bank we seek ways to partner with other community organizations to have a meaningful impact in the lives of those we serve. We have long believed that our Veterans are a community where we want to focus our work. Programs that support Veterans are a key area of focus for the Foundation and the Bank. Our Veterans give so much to protect our way of life in America when they choose to serve in the Armed Forces,” Jim McDonough, President and CEO of Envision Bank, said. “When they return to civilian life it is our goal to ensure they have the support they need, especially in the area of housing. We are honored to be able to partner with Father Bill’s & MainSpring on this project that will ensure at least 10 Veterans, who would otherwise be homeless, will have the safety and security of a place to call home. While we know we cannot change the world, we believe we can change our small part of it for the better with like-minded organizations committed to supporting our Veterans and their families.”
In recent years, the administration of Gov. Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito has awarded grants to two other FBMS developments: Jack’s Place & Patti’s House, which opened in 2016 and holds 20 apartments for formerly homeless individuals, including 10 veterans, and a two-family duplex for formerly homeless families; and Montello Welcome Home Again, which opened last December and is home to 23 formerly homeless individuals, including 12 veterans.
“Today’s groundbreaking of the Envision Bank Home for Veterans is another opportunity to improve the lives of veterans. Thanks to the Baker-Polito administration, Father Bill’s & MainSpring, and Envision Bank for their partnership to honor the sacrifices of our Commonwealth’s veterans,” said Department of Veterans’ Services Francisco A. Ureña. “This project is another example why Massachusetts leads the nation in support for our veterans.”
“Our veterans face many challenges when they transition back into civilian life, but finding stable housing should not be one of them. Father Bill’s & MainSpring is a national leader in the Housing First model and a vital partner for the Department of Housing and Community Development. As a shelter provider for homeless families and individuals and as a developer of new affordable housing, they put vulnerable households on the path to permanent housing,” said Department of Housing and Community Development Undersecretary Janelle Chan. “We are proud to support this project with funding through our Supportive Housing Awards in 2019, and witness their successes. We are confident the Envision Bank Home for Veterans will provide excellent services for veterans transitioning out of homelessness, and look forward to celebrating more milestones with them.”
FBMS, a regional provider of services and housing designed to prevent and end homelessness, currently operates more than 500 permanent supportive housing units across Southern Massachusetts. On average, 99 percent of FBMS tenants stay housed at least one year, while 93 percent of tenants stay housed at least three years.
“We are very grateful to the administration of Gov. Baker and Lt. Gov Polito, to Envision Bank and its Foundation, to our project funders, and to our supporters throughout the region who are helping FBMS create innovative and cost-effective solutions to one of the most complex problems facing our communities,” John Yazwinski, President & CEO of FBMS, said. “Creating more supportive housing is the best way to end homelessness – plain and simple. Together, with projects like the Envision Bank Home for Veterans, we are letting our most vulnerable neighbors know that their long-term health and well-being are a priority and that nobody who served our country should be homeless.”
The new Randolph house will provide on-site case management and supportive services to help tenants gain the skills needed to become more independent. Two of the apartments will be wheelchair accessible and one will be adapted for hearing/sight impairments.
“For nearly three years we have been on the journey to this moment,” Lou Trubiano, Chairman of the Envision Bank Foundation Board of Directors, said. “It is an honor to be able to celebrate today’s groundbreaking with the entire team at Father Bill’s & MainSpring. I am proud of the Foundation’s commitment to building 10 units of quality housing for our Veterans. It would not be possible without the Governor’s commitment to this effort as well as the state departments which have dedicated the important funding sources necessary to bring this endeavor to reality. This is a great example of what can be achieved when the private sector, government, and non-profits work together with a shared vision for change.”
About Envision Bank
Founded in 1851, Envision Bank is a Massachusetts-based community bank, committed to proactively helping consumers and business owners simplify their financial lives. It operates six full-service locations, three lending centers, and seven mortgage production offices in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and southern New Hampshire and can serve anyone in New England online at www.envisionbank.com. The bank is a top regional mortgage lender, as well as a provider of cash management and financing solutions to commercial businesses. NASDAQ: RNDB
About Father Bill’s & MainSpring Father Bill’s & MainSpring (FBMS) is the leading provider of services to prevent and end homelessness in Southern Massachusetts. The agency, founded in the early 1980s by a group of interfaith and community leaders, helps more than 6,700 people annually who are experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness. FBMS, a proud partner of the United Way of Greater Plymouth County and the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit agency with administrative offices in Quincy and Brockton and program offices throughout Southern Massachusetts. For more information, visit www.helpfbms.org.