​The two structures on the site of the future Bay Street Apartments in Laconia have been demolished. Site work is underway to improve drainage and ready the site for construction of the 12-unit building. Construction is scheduled to take nine months.

Bay Street Apartments will offer 12 efficiency units of supportive housing in partnership with Lakes Region Mental Health Center.

Thank you to the NH Department of Business & Economic Affairs for awarding Invest NH demolition funds to the City of Laconia for this project. We greatly appreciate the City's support in cleaning up this site to make way for new affordable housing.

​A phenomenal group of resident volunteers in our adjacent Avery Hill and Millview developments (up near the hospital in Laconia) worked together this spring to build a community garden in their neighborhood. The garden features two 4x8 foot beds on the ground and one elevated accessible bed.

The group is doing an awesome job tending the garden - just look at those veggies growing!

​We wanted to take a moment to recognize Caitlin Meaney, who reached her 10-year anniversary with LRCD on June 19.

Caitlin started out doing fundraising and grant writing at LRCD. Over the past two years, she has transitioned into asset management. She now serves as LRCD's Asset Management Director and is responsible for stewarding our real estate portfolio into the future.

We are grateful for Caitlin's energy, compassion, and her commitment to LRCD's mission. Thank you for all you do, Caitlin!

By respecting and appreciating the diversity within our LRCD communities, we can empower everyone to live their best life and promote equity and justice for all of our residents. We hope you enjoy these resources and events that help you learn about and celebrate the beauty in our differences, while acknowledging our shared humanity.

Disability Pride Month is a time to celebrate the work of disability rights organizers, elevate disabled voices, and reflect on the work that remains to break down barriers to full inclusion. We celebrate during the month of July to honor the anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on July 26, 1990.




​What is the meaning of the disability pride flag? 
In an interview with The Accessible Stall podcast, writer Ann Magill, creator of the disability pride flag (in collaboration with other members of the disability community), shared what the colors on the disability flag represent.

• The faded black background represents "the anger and mourning over the eugenics and the neglect that disabled people have to fight against."
• Red represents physical disabilities.
• Gold is for neurodiversity.
• White represents invisible disabilities and disabilities that haven't yet been diagnosed.
• Blue stands for emotional and psychiatric disabilities, including mental illness, anxiety, and depression.
• Green is for sensory disabilities, including deafness, blindness, lack of smell, lack of taste, audio processing disorder, and all other sensory disabilities.

​Disability Pride Reading Lists 
Disability Pride Reading List | Powell's Books (powells.com) 

Disability Pride Month: Recommended Reading | NC State University Libraries (ncsu.edu)
 
Podcasts Featuring Disabled Voices 
Secret Lives of the Disabled | Podcast on Spotify
 
Performance Artist Sally Greenhouse survived a catastrophic car accident that left her with a broken neck and spinal cord injury.  "Secret Lives of the Disabled" is a podcast that has as its focus individuals who become disabled in America due to accidents, chronic illnesses and debilitating pain often plunging them into poverty, housing insecurity and extreme isolation while rendering them as expendable Americans.  This podcast features guests from every profession addressing the consequences faced by formerly able bodied people, in mutually interactive conversations with Greenhouse, that include her chronicle of how she survives physical disability.
 
Easterseals | Everything You Know About Disability Is Wrong Podcast
 
Everything You Know About Disability is Wrong is a podcast for the disability community by the disability community, hosted by two disabled women. But if you're not disabled, listen in to learn about real issues, celebrations, and conversations disabled people are having in their communities.
 
Home - The Accessible Stall
 
The Accessible Stall is a disability podcast hosted by Kyle Khachadurian and Emily Ladau that keeps it real about issues within the disability community. Because they each have different disabilities and mobility levels, they approach their topics with two unique viewpoints, offering listeners a fresh insight into how differences in disability can color your experiences and perspectives. And they never shy away from offering their honest opinions, even if they go against the grain of the disability community at large.

​The Linden Foundation recently made a grant to Lakes Region Community Developers (LRCD) to establish a dedicated pre-development fund at LRCD, which will be used to pay for expenses necessary to get affordable housing developments permitted and funded. The grant will enable LRCD to expand its pipeline of housing developments to better meet the significant need for affordable housing in the Lakes Region.
 
“It typically costs us $300,000 to get that shovel in the ground and start construction on one housing development,” said Carmen Lorentz, LRCD Executive Director. “We only have so much capital on reserve, so it’s been a big constraint on production. These funds will enable us to be working on more projects at the same time, so we can increase our rate of production of affordable housing.”
 
Typical pre-development expenses include deposits to secure purchase agreements on sites, as well as professional services, including architectural, engineering, environmental, legal, and financial services.
 
“The Linden Foundation was looking for ways to make a bigger impact on the housing crisis that is affecting so many families,” said Chaletta Huertas, Grants Advisor to the Linden Foundation. “We are pleased to make this significant investment in LRCD’s efforts to develop more affordable housing.”

​Thank you so much to Wood & Clay and Quality Insulation for buying the last of our Gale School tax credits right at the May 17 deadline! Wood & Clay has generously supported this project with tax credit purchases in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024.

Thanks to the generosity of local companies like these, we were successful in selling $1,000,000 in NH tax credits to help pay for the $4 million renovation of the 1894 Gale School building in Belmont. When renovations are complete, the building will house a child care center on the first floor operated by Lakes Region Child Care Services / Boys & Girls Club and a program center for Lakes Region Community Services on the second floor.

These tax credits were awarded to us by the NH Community Development Finance Authority, which supports community and economic development projects across New Hampshire.

​Pictured above from left to right: Shannon Robinson-Beland, co-owner of Wood & Clay; Duncan Simons, Meredith branch manager at Quality Insulation; and Robert Perras also of Quality Insulation.

Carmen Lorentz accepts a check from Kat Johnson and Reuben Bassett of Keller Williams Coastal and Lakes & Mountains.
 
“As commercial real estate agents, business owners, and community members, we understand the complex need for affordable housing in our communities,” said Reuben Bassett. “As we continue to see the challenges facing our cities and towns as a result of the lack of affordable housing, it's an easy choice to support an organization like LRCD that is pursuing solutions to help address these issues.”

Thank You Keller Williams! We are so grateful for your support. 

We need the financial support of our local business community in order to produce more units of affordable housing for essential workers. Most housing developments that we undertake cost us $300,000 before we can get a shovel in the ground.

Email [email protected] today if your business would like to be a Housing Champion or Advocate.

​Don't forget! We have been chosen to participate in a special charitable giving campaign, sponsored and funded by Target. And you have the chance to help direct a portion of Target’s donation to us!  

​Now through June 30th, vote for us through the Target Circle program to help determine how Target’s donation will be divvied up. To vote for us, click HERE. 

We’re asking our supporters to help us make the most of this incredible opportunity. Every vote counts to help us receive a portion of the available Target funds as we continue our mission to create opportunities for the Lakes Region to thrive by developing healthy homes, creating vibrant community assets, and engaging residents.

Thank you for your support! 

​Thank you to everyone who supported us during last week's NH Gives fundraising campaign. We are thrilled to share that we raised $7,700! These funds will be a big help as we continue to do our part to prevent homelessness. 

​During NeighborWorks Week (June 1-8), we celebrated all the great projects LRCD residents worked on together this spring to improve their neighborhoods, including neighborhood clean-up days and lots of community gardens!

​Loving Day commemorates the anniversary of the Supreme Court Case, Loving v. Virginia, which struck down state laws banning interracial marriage. The “Loving” in Loving Day is the last name of Mildred and Richard Loving, who were arrested in 1958 because they were an interracial couple in Virginia. They sued the State of Virginia, and their case made it all the way to the Supreme Court.
 
The Lovings won their case on June 12, 1967. It was more than a victory for their family. It struck down all state laws against interracial marriage in the U.S.
 
People around the world observe Loving Day every year on June 12th in meaningful and personal ways. It can be especially significant for interracial couples, multiracial families, mixed race and transracially adopted people, and those with similar lived experience.
 
One easy way to celebrate your family is to share photos and stories on social media with the hashtag #LovingDay. You can find more information and ways to celebrate at www.lovingday.org.
 
Raising Multiracial Children
 
This two-part YouTube series, “Raising Multiracial Children,” by EmbraceRace explores the complexities of multiracial identity, discusses the pivotal role families play in shaping how multiracial children come to understand themselves and the world around them, and talks about concrete steps that parents and caregivers can take to build resilience as a multiracial family.

The Emancipation Proclamation took effect during the Civil War, on January 1, 1863. The Proclamation declared all enslaved people in the Confederate States as legally free. However, the Proclamation could not be implemented in places still under Confederate control. As a result, in the westernmost Confederate state of Texas, enslaved people would not be free until June 19, 1865, when Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas. This day came to be known as "Juneteenth” by the newly freed people in Texas.
 
Although Juneteenth has long been celebrated in the African American community, this monumental event is just now starting to be recognized by everyone in the U.S. Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021.
​
Here in New Hampshire, you can join the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire in celebrating Juneteenth with their event series including an artist reception on June 7, a panel discussion of Black masculinity on June 13, and on June 19 a live concert, African drumming, and more.

Did you know? The first Pride march took place in New York City on June 28, 1970, to commemorate the Stonewall riots that began a year earlier when police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in lower Manhattan. Although not the first protests for LGBTQ+ civil rights, the Stonewall riots propelled the movement onto the national and global stage.
​
In the U.S., June was first officially declared Pride Month by the federal government in 1999. Today, Pride celebrations, parades, vigils, picnics, and marches take place all over the US during the month of June to remember and celebrate hard-won civil rights for LGBTQ+ people.

New Hampshire’s Pride offerings have grown considerably in recent years. Here is a list of events that we compiled in case you’d like to join in the celebrations!

Windham Pride Festival
Sunday, June 9
Noon to 4PM
Windham High School
 
Manchester Pride
Saturday, June 15
Parade down Elm St 11:15 AM
Festival @ Veteran’s Park noon to 4PM
 
Portsmouth Pride
Saturday, June 22
Parade at noon @ Market Square
Festival 1PM to 4PM @ Strawberry Banke
Other events all weekend
 
White Mountains Pride
Saturday, June 29
10AM to 4PM
North Conway Community Center
 
Concord Arts in the Park – Celebrating Pride
Saturday, July 13
10AM to 3PM
Rollins Park, Concord NH
 
Neuroqueer & Disabled Queer Pride Fest
Saturday, July 13
Time TBA
Henry Law Park, Dover
On Instagram @neuroqueer_nh​