​We are pleased to welcome Judi Donnelly, Jeanie Forrester, and Kyril Mitchell to our Board of Directors! Click here to learn more about these amazing community volunteers who have chosen to dedicate their time and expertise to LRCD’s mission.

In September, we set a goal to raise $45,000 to fully furnish the 12 supportive housing efficiency apartments at 17 Bay Street, Laconia. Thanks to the generosity of this community, we have exceeded that goal and raised $50,000! With the extra funds, we will create comfortable outdoor spaces on the porch and in the back yard to really make Bay Street feel like home.

​Thank you to Melcher & Prescott Insurance for their generous contribution to the Bay Street furnishings campaign! Pictured above are Randy Eifert, President – Property & Casualty of Melcher & Prescott; Carmen Lorentz of LRCD, and Bill Bald, President of Melcher & Prescott.
 
We would also like to express our gratitude to the NH Electric Co-op Foundation, the Annette P. Schmitt Charitable Trust, and to Taylor Community and their generous residents Susan & John Davies.

In December, LRCD’s Board of Directors approved our new strategic plan after a six-month planning process incorporating input from the Board and from our residents and staff.

Our overarching goals remain the same: to create a healthier housing ecosystem in the Lakes Region, and to empower our residents to achieve economic security. But we have laid out new and ambitious objectives to help us achieve these goals over the next three years. For details, click the button below.

The New Hampshire Charitable Foundation recently made a two-year, $40,000 grant to LRCD for general operating support. This grant was made possible by gifts from the Foundation’s Chandler Family Fund and Lakes Region Community Fund.
 
Over the next two years, this critical support will help us grow our pipeline of affordable housing projects, elevate the performance of our existing rental portfolio, and work to increase public support for affordable housing in the Lakes Region.

​Lakes Region Community Developers (LRCD) is pleased to announce the addition of three new members to its Board of Directors: Judith Donnelly, LRCD Tenant; Jeanie Forrester of NH Dept. of Business & Economic Affairs; and Kyril Mitchell of Northway Bank. The Board provides leadership for carrying out the organization’s mission of creating affordable housing and empowering LRCD’s tenants to achieve economic security.
 
Judith (Judi) Donnelly has been a resident at LRCD’s Harriman Hill Apartments in Wolfeboro since August 2014. She is a retired realtor who worked for 30+ years with Maxfield Real Estate. Her husband, who has since passed away, owned his own general contracting business. Judi gained a lot of experience in the housing industry through both means – selling homes and helping her husband prepare bids for building homes.  Judi is an active resident leader at Harriman Hill who is well-respected by her neighbors and property management. 

​Kyril Mitchell is the Assistant Vice President - Small Business Relationship Manager for Northway Bank and an active member of the community. After completing his service as Staff Sergeant for the U.S Army in 2005, he proceeded to build a career in the banking industry that spans almost 20 years. In addition to his Board member role with LRCD, Kyril serves on the board for Lakes Region Mental Health Center and is an unaffiliated member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Previously, he also served on the Laconia Planning Board and as a board member for Hands Across the Table.

​“We are so happy to start the new year by welcoming such a strong group of community members to our Board,” said Lori Borrin, Vice President / Loan Officer at MVSB and LRCD Board Chair. “Each of our incoming Board members brings a unique perspective and skill set that will enhance LRCD’s efforts to create more affordable housing in the Lakes Region.”
 
In pursuing their mission, LRCD has several projects currently underway that will help alleviate some of the challenges around affordable housing availability. Construction is two-thirds of the way done at Bay Street Apartments in Laconia, which will contain 12 efficiency units of supportive housing for individuals experiencing or at-risk of homelessness. Renovations will soon begin at 11 Jameson Street, Laconia where LRCD will renovate a single-family house into three small one-bedroom units of supportive housing for individuals with developmental or intellectual disabilities. In addition, construction is planned to begin this spring on Harriman Hill III in Wolfeboro, which will contain 30 units of affordable housing in a mix of unit sizes.

As the year draws to a close, we’ve been reflecting on everything we were able to do this year thanks to supporters like you.
 
This year, we:

• Started construction on Bay Street Apartments in Laconia, which will offer 12 units of supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness.
• Assembled over $11 million in funding for Harriman Hill III in Wolfeboro, which will provide 30 units of affordable rental housing. We completed construction drawings and put the project out to bid. When bids came back 20% over budget, we didn’t give up. We applied for additional grant funds to close the gap. We plan to begin construction in spring 2025.
• Provided resident services to 384 residents in 320 households. Resident services helps people maintain stable housing and empowers them to pursue their goals.
• Provided eviction prevention services to 218 households. We processed 96 payments totaling $17,744 on behalf of 43 of those tenants to keep them housed. This critical work prevents homelessness in our community.

We can’t do any of this without your support. Please consider making your tax-deductible donation to LRCD by December 31st to help us make an even bigger impact on the housing crisis in the Lakes Region in 2025.

​Thank you to Sheehan Phinney (SP) for being one of our Housing Champions this year! We rely on the expertise of the Affordable Housing Group at Sheehan Phinney to structure our deals. We greatly appreciate their financial support of our mission.
 
“We are proud to support LRCD’s unwavering dedication to creating healthy homes and vibrant communities for people in the Lakes Region. Their great work is an example of what can be accomplished through hard work and commitment. Sheehan Phinney’s Affordable Housing Group is honored to be a Housing Champion.”
 
~ Ken Viscarello, Chair, Affordable Housing Group at Sheehan Phinney 

​We are so grateful to Heart & Hands Thrift Shop, a non-profit thrift shop established by three local churches in Meredith, for their $3,400 grant to furnish an entire apartment! Heart & Hands invests all profits from the thrift shop back into the community.

Construction at Bay Street continues to move ahead on schedule with completion anticipated in late March.

Pictured above: Carmen Lorentz of LRCD with Anne McDonough and Tom Witham from Heart & Hands’ Board of Directors.

​We are pleased to announce that we have been engaged as a consultant by The Home Possible Project to help them assemble the financing needed to make their vision a reality.

The Home Possible Project’s mission is to create supportive housing opportunities for adults with developmental disabilities in the Lakes Region. A site for their project was recently donated by the First United Methodist Church of Gilford.

​After Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday, generous donors across the world come together to give back on Giving Tuesday. Lakes Region Community Developers is part of this global movement of generosity.
 
We need your support on Giving Tuesday to replenish our Good Neighbor Fund, which helps our residents get through tough times like when their car breaks down or they miss work because they get sick. Most folks who live in our properties do not have savings to get them through a crisis like this. But you can help!
 
Save the Date for December 3rd. Or click here make your donation early today.
 
Thank you for being a good neighbor to those in need!

We are happy to share good news on the effort to renovate this beautiful 1894 school building in Belmont to serve as an early learning center operated by the Boys & Girls Club of Central & Northern NH and a program center for Lakes Region Community Services. Unfortunately, when we put the project out to bid this summer, the bids came back significantly over budget. Over the past few months, we have worked with some of our funders on a plan to overcome this challenge.

​Part of the plan was to ask the Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC) to allow us to use their grant from 2020 to stabilize the building. This request was approved a few weeks ago. The stabilization work will begin in early spring.
 
The big news is that the State of New Hampshire has approved $750,000 in American Rescue Plan (ARPA) funds for the project, which gets us very close to the finish line.
 
Stay tuned for more updates in the spring!

​Construction is buzzing right along on Bay Street Apartments in Laconia, which will provide 12 efficiency units of supportive housing for individuals experiencing homelessness or at-risk of homelessness. Supportive services for the tenants will be provided by Lakes Region Mental Health Center.

The framing is done and the building will be enclosed very soon, just in time for winter. We remain on track for completion in late March.
 
Thanks to the generosity of our community, we have raised enough money to fully furnish 11 of the 12 apartments!  Click here to help us furnish the last one.

​Residents at Pinecrest Apartments in Meredith organized a pumpkin carving party last month. Families gathered to celebrate fall and show off their creativity. A good time was had by all!

​November is Native American and Alaska Native Heritage Month. This celebration of Indigenous cultures began as a week-long event in 1986 under President Reagan. Every President since 1995 has issued annual proclamations designating the month of November as the time to celebrate the cultures, accomplishments, and contributions of Native American and Alaska Native communities.
 
We hope the resources below help you learn more about Indigenous culture and history, including right here in N’dakinna, the traditional ancestral homeland of the Abenaki, Pennacook and Wabanaki Peoples, past and present.

​INHCC is a grassroots movement of community members of diverse cultural backgrounds, working to re-frame New Hampshire’s heritage through a decolonial lens. Their website features some great blog posts and resources, and their YouTube channel offers locally produced documentaries about Indigenous heritage in New Hampshire and the Lakes Region.

Now Who Shall Judge the Indians?
How 500 Years of Colonization Has Impacted the Abenaki Peoples of NH and the Northeast

A livestream virtual presentation by Anne Jennison
Saturday, November 9 at 11:00 am
To register, contact the Sandown Public Library 603-887-3428

Anne Jennison is a traditional Native American storyteller and historian of European and Abenaki heritage.
​
In this presentation, Anne examines how European colonization of North America impacted generations of Abenaki/Wabanaki people. She also highlights the ways that the Abenaki/Wabanaki peoples have acted as agents of their own change through education, self-advocacy, efforts to revitalize their languages and traditional arts. Finally, she discusses how—working with archeologists, anthropologists, and scientists—they have recovered and revealed more about their history and traditional knowledge.
 
This program is offered by NH Humanities.

​Celebrate by listening to Indigenous and Native voices from across North America on PBS.
 
PBS features a wide range of programming, including documentaries on American Indian boarding schools, a series featuring Native chefs and Indigenous cuisine, and an entire library of documentaries and short films telling a variety of Native stories.