Is John Hope Settlement House Doomed?

Is John Hope Settlement House Doomed?

The John Hope Settlement House (JHSH) in Providence took another blow this budget season when it was denied state and city funding for the upcoming year, marking the latest development for the community organization that has been under fire by concerned citizens, who have previously called for the removal of board chair, State Representative Anastasia Williams, for nearly two years. 

In the state’s Fiscal Year 2017 budget, a $300,000 community service grant was removed on the floor at the last minute by Finance Chairman Marvin Abney; the City of Providence also pulled over $130,000 in CDBG funding due to findings in the organization’s most recent audit.  

“It feels like the culmination of a lot of effort of people who had issues with leadership and in terms of the day-to-day, oftentimes if the leadership isn't right, what little that is good gets lost,” said community organizer Chace Baptista. “My fear is this may be a big enough of thing that John Hope could go away. People want it to be saved, but this is a big hole.”

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Williams did not respond to request for comment on Monday on the finances or future of JHSH on Monday.  

Dwindling Income 

The loss of over $400,000 in revenue comes at a time when JHSH has had a steady pattern of diminishing contributions and grants — losing over 50% in just a two year period.

According to the organization’s 990s, in 2011, JHSH listed $2,416,173 in contributions and grants; in 2012, the line-item was $1,473,093; by 2013, the last available year, the amount was $1,082,725.

Last fall, GoLocal was first to report that Williams and JHSH were barred from receiving federal funds, after the Rhode Island Department of Education found JHSH could not account for over $35,000 in USDA reimbursements for meals.

“I felt that after the community service grant cuts, the tone is that people are concerned about what the loss in funding could mean -- how many groups are getting cut?  For John Hope, it's a culmination of concerns with HUD and the General Assembly, the ethics issue didn't help,” said Jim Vincent, President of the NAACP Providence Branch, of Williams’ ethics filings oversights that are the subject of a formal complaint with the Ethics Commission. “I’ll do whatever we need to keep it open.”

The group “Concerned Citizens for John Hope” had begun raising issues with the management of JHSH in 2014, when former ProCap Director Frank Corbishley was hired as Interim Executive Director.  As GoLocal reported:

John Hope Settlement House is a community based organization that grew from a vision of public spirited African American leaders to serve their neighbors in the late 1920’s -- and is currently the subject of a movement of concerned citizens to shine the light on issues at the house -- and its future.  

Located on what is now Thomas Whitten Way, which named for the previous director of the House, Whitten, and others including Chace Baptista, Kobi Dennis and other community leaders came together in September to question the current leadership of the house, after a recent Executive Director was ousted amidst allegations of misconduct by current Board Chair Anastasia Williams.  

Now, former employees are coming forth to talk about the management of the house -- which has included the addition of former embattled ProCap Director Frank Corbishley as the interim Executive Director.  Williams and the current board have staunchly defended their position, while the former executive director has been contacted by the state police to provide any information he might know. A number of the concerned citizens are community members who used to go to the house themselves, and speak fondly of their time there.  While the future of the house -- and the movement -- will become more clear in the coming year, the group is intent on demanding the highest level of accountability for an important nonprofit for children and families in Providence. 

House at Crossroads

“The concerns I've had, I feel we were burnt out with the fight, that it was falling on deaf ears,” said community leader Kobi Dennis on Monday. “We reached out to a number of people, including the Mayor.  The ‘concerned citizens’ should have a contingency plan -- my sense is the community doesn't know what's going to happen, if there's an ulterior motive with the building. I tried to fight and do the right thing, but now, I don't know what happened, what transpired, but I know a lot of people around what happened — knowing that Williams was getting state funding as a State Rep -- should be ashamed. I think she got caught in the whirlwind. I just want to see John Hope run well.” 

Williams was first elected as a State Representative in 1992; on Monday, a potential challenger to Williams said that she is being courted to run against the twenty-four year incumbent.