Opportunity Zones

CCRI Community First Data shows that communities on the South and West Side of Providence have the highest rates of unemployment in Rhode Island and the lowest rates of post-secondary credential attainment. By 2025, 70% of jobs created in RI will require a postsecondary credential; however only 47% of working-age Rhode Islanders have a post-secondary credential. Community First brings a postsecondary credential to Rhode Islanders with the greatest barriers to entry.

No Rhode Islander should be out of reach of CCRI, which calls for the creation of Opportunity Zones—centering first in Providence where half of the state’s BIPOC population resides. The Opportunity Zone will include a focused attention on key zip codes: 02905, 02906, 02907, 02908, and 02909 in Providence. Through proactive, targeted outreach and expanded programs, CCRI can increase accessibility in these target communities. Similar community-based programs include Harlem Children’s Zone in New York and Broward Community College’s Broward Up. Broward College used unemployment data and education attainment data to identify underserved communities in their service area. The development was a series of program to reduce barriers to college enrollment for these areas. This pointed approach has already proven to work when assisting the most vulnerable and economically disenfranchised communities, and CCRI has proven results with targeting opportunity within the Opportunity Zone.