In this environment, it is challenging to provide affordable housing opportunities – we really can’t do this work without you!

We have a crisis looming, and we need your help. Will you please make a donation today to help us prevent evictions?

Last month, we learned abruptly that New Hampshire’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program is no longer accepting new applications. This leaves many of our tenants with nowhere to turn for help. With cold weather here and the holidays right around the corner, this could not have happened at a worse time.
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Sadly, many of our tenants are struggling right now due to continuing pandemic instability and the increased costs of food and utilities.

Your donation today will help us keep a family in their home this winter.

As a non-profit affordable housing provider, we set break-even operating budgets for all our properties. Our goal is not to earn a profit, but to keep rents affordable. We have been doing this work successfully for 30 years. We now provide housing to over 350 households in the Lakes Region.

Our mission is to create housing opportunities, so eviction is not an acceptable outcome. Evictions are bad for families and bad for our economy.

We must help families maintain stable housing while keeping our properties financially viable. Your financial support will help us do this. 

Thank You, 
Carmen Lorentz, Executive Director

​We are happy to report that we have sold all $750,000 in state tax credits for the Gale School Redevelopment Project! A huge thank you to the following recent donors who got us over the finish line: the Common Man family of restaurants, Hodges Companies, Miracle Farms Landscaping, and Greene's Corner Market.

LRCD is proud to announce we were recently awarded a $3,000 grant from the Northeast Delta Dental Foundation in support of our Adult Dental Program.
 
LRCD’s Adult Dental Program helps us realize our vision of a Lakes Region where everyone lives in a home that supports good physical, mental, and financial health and is empowered to reach their full potential.
 
With limited options available in New Hampshire for comprehensive adult dental care through Medicaid, LRCD created the Dental Program in 2020. It is a cost-share program that helps LRCD’s tenants, most of whom do not have dental insurance, pay for dental services. READ MORE...

​THANK YOU to our friends at Speare Memorial Hospital! They gave LRCD a $5,000 grant for our Housing Stability Fund for Ames Brook Apartments in Ashland.

This grant will enable us to help tenants who fall behind on rent due to ongoing pandemic instability and increased costs of food and utilities. Now that the NH Emergency Rental Assistance Program has ended, these funds from Speare will be absolutely critical to preventing evictions this winter.

Lakes Region Community Developers (LRCD) is proud to announce they were recently awarded a $3,000 grant from the Northeast Delta Dental Foundation in support of LRCD’s Adult Dental Program.
 
LRCD’s Adult Dental Program helps LRCD realize its vision of a Lakes Region where everyone lives in a home that supports good physical, mental, and financial health and is empowered to reach their full potential.
 
With limited options available in New Hampshire for comprehensive adult dental care through Medicaid, LRCD created its Dental Program in 2020. It is a cost-share program that helps LRCD’s tenants, most of whom do not have dental insurance, pay for dental services.
 
In 2021, the program provided 27 dental grants to low-income adults. Grants to residents have been for fillings, crowns, root canals, extractions, dentures, x-rays, cleanings, and more. The program has motivated some participants to save for the other half of work that they are responsible for and take care of their dental health.
 
“We are so grateful for the support of the Northeast Delta Dental Foundation,” says LRCD Executive Director, Carmen Lorentz. “Accessing and affording dental care can be a challenge, but it’s so important to overall health. We are thankful for the support of Northeast Delta Dental and other funders in helping us continue our work in making dental care more accessible to our residents.”
 
Jennifer McGrath, Manager, Foundation & Marketing Initiatives at Northeast Delta Dental, comments, “It is our mission to improve access to oral health care in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. We are pleased to support Lakes Region Community Developers and the work they do in the community.” 

Wood & Clay, a local company that specializes in custom home construction and renovations in the Lakes Region, has purchased another $25,000 in New Hampshire business tax credits to support the redevelopment of the Gale School in Belmont. Just last year, they purchased $50,000. The project will transform the historic schoolhouse into a community facility that will include on the second floor a new program center for Lakes Region Community Services (LRCS).

Wood & Clay, based in Gilford, is owned by husband and wife team Kevin Beland and Shannon Robinson-Beland.

LRCD and LRCS are partnering to sell the tax credits to local businesses. We have $160,000 left to sell in order to move ahead with construction. To purchase tax credits for the Gale School project, contact Carmen Lorentz at (603) 524-0747, ext 110. READ MORE...

​Wood & Clay, a local company that specializes in custom home construction and renovations in the Lakes Region, has purchased another $25,000 in New Hampshire business tax credits to support the redevelopment of the Gale School in Belmont. Just last year, they purchased $50,000. The project will transform the historic schoolhouse into a community facility that will include on the second floor a new program center for Lakes Region Community Services (LRCS).
 
Wood & Clay, based in Gilford, is owned by husband and wife team Kevin Beland and Shannon Robinson-Beland.
 
“We hope our additional pledge this year inspires other local businesses to contribute, especially with the project getting closer to its fundraising goal,” said Shannon Robinson-Beland. “It’s exciting that LRCS will be part of the next chapter for the Gale School – what a great way to put this historic building back to good use serving local families again.”
 
“The Gale School will be a great location for us,” said Rebecca Bryant, President & CEO of LRCS. “It will enable us to expand the reach of our programming, offering it to new families and to existing clients who will find the Gale School a more convenient location.”
 
Lakes Region Community Developers (LRCD) is the developer for the project. LRCD and LRCS are partnering to sell the tax credits to local businesses. They have $160,000 left to sell in order to move ahead with construction.
 
Businesses interested in purchasing tax credits for the Gale School project should contact Carmen Lorentz at LRCD by calling (603) 524-0747, ext 110.
 
The Gale School was built in 1894, and was used by the Belmont school district until the mid-1980s. The building has been mostly vacant since then, and years of neglect have taken their toll. The Gale School was named to the New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places in 2018, and was selected as one of New Hampshire’s Seven to Save in 2017.
 
In July 2020, the building was successfully moved by the local Save Our Gale School Committee (SOGS) to a new location at 60 Concord Street in Belmont Village. LRCD agreed to partner with SOGS to redevelop the building.
 
The tax credits are administered by New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority (CDFA). Any business with operations in NH that contributes to a CDFA tax credit project receives a NH state tax credit worth 75% of their contribution. The credit can be used over a period of five years to reduce the business’ state tax liability (business profits, business enterprise or insurance premium taxes). The tax credit program allows NH businesses to redirect a significant portion of their state tax dollars to support local projects that they care about.
 
CDFA reviews many project applications each year and awards tax credits to those they determine are feasible and will make the biggest impact on economic development in the state. LRCD was awarded $750,000 in credits for the Gale School project, and has sold $590,000 to date.

UNH Cooperative Extension is a statewide organization that provides services, training, and education to NH residents with the goal of creating stronger, vibrant, and engaged communities. LRCD has forged a strong partnership with Extension to offer wellness programming for tenants at our properties.
 
Some of the most popular Extension programs with our tenants have been Cooking Matters, Walking with Ease, Grocery Store Tours, and Chronic Pain Management. In addition, this summer we partnered with Extension to create a 10-bed community garden at our Ames Brook Apartments in Ashland. With funding for building supplies and plants provided by Bank of NH, Extension staff advised tenants on the design of the garden and what to plant and also taught them how to cook healthy meals using the vegetables they’ve grown.
 
We are grateful for our partnership with UNH Cooperative Extension. Their programs enhance our efforts to improve the health and well-being of our tenants, which enables them to maintain housing stability, work with their neighbors to address community needs, and build their own pathways to economic security. A big thank you to all of the Extension staff and volunteers we have worked with over the years!