The Town of Warren is seeking input from residents to better assess and address the need for more affordable housing and access to high-speed internet throughout the town.

Two surveys have gone live and will be available for residents to take throughout the month of March. Mailings and promotional materials will also be distributed throughout the coming weeks to encourage residents to take the surveys. Residents are also incentivized to take the surveys, as they will be entered into a drawing for several $100 gift cards upon completion.

“Statistically, we know there is a digital divide when it comes to broadband access for low-income communities,” reads a press release from the Warren Health Equity Zone (HEZ). “Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, this inequity has worsened for many Warren households without reliable broadband service…leaving them unable to work from home, attend school remotely, or access vital state and federal online resources.”

“The pandemic also highlighted the chronic lack of safe and affordable housing in the community,” the release continues.

The town — working in collaboration with the East Bay Community Action Program, the Warren HEZ, HCH Enterprises, and Housing Works RI (of Roger Williams University) — is currently refining its approach to these two key issues. Affordable housing and broadband access were both identified as priorities by residents in a survey taken last October in regards to how Warren should spend its more than $3 million in American Rescue Plan funding.

The plan, as of now, is to seed an affordable housing trust fund with $250,000 of the town’s ARPA funds, half of which are available and half of which will be released this summer. The Town Council approved this allocation, along with a $15,000 allocation to further investigate the feasibility of expanding broadband access (potentially by creating a municipal internet service provider), back in January.

The surveys can be accessed here.