Owned by Retirement Housing Foundation (RHF), a national faith-based non-profit headquartered in Long Beach, CA, and managed by The Schochet Companies of Boston, Riverside Village is a family community consisting of 312 apartments in 26 buildings spread over nearly thirty pastoral acres abutting the Nashua River. Recently Riverside Village, winner of the prestigious New England Affordable Housing Management Association (NEAHMA) 2012 Communities of Quality Award for Exemplary Family Developments , welcomed the Leominster community to an event designed to prevent crime and address quality of life issues.
Held throughout the United States and Canada, the nationwide event is coordinated by the National Association of Town Watch and was designed to increase awareness about various anti-crime initiatives in the community. The goal of the local event was to heighten crime and drug prevention awareness; generate support for, and participation in, local anticrime programs; strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships; and send a message to criminals letting them know that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back. The community event boasted entertainment, free food, giveaways, games, and community booths all creating an atmosphere celebrating unity. Mayor Dean J. Mazzarella called the event “awesome” noting that “it was great to see kids having a lot of fun”, while Chief Robert Healey of the Leominster Police Department said “[we] were proud to join with the riverside Residents to take back their neighborhood.”
The organizers of the event, Theresa Wright and Sharon Lopez of The Schochet Companies were similarly pleased with the response. Wright explained, “This event was to encourage and promote safety and crime prevention while enjoying the evening with residents and community partners… Last night was an amazing event, and best of all the residents had a great time as well.” Lopez, very grateful for the support from the community said: “I truly was not expecting the great turn out that we had or that they would be willing to march during our parade against crime and in support of the police. I think that says something really good about our residents…I think last night opened up a huge door for this partnership.”
Lopez also made a point of thanking the sponsors: “This was a collaborative effort and we thank several generous sponsors for making this event possible and for showing their commitment to making our communities safer and for supporting the residents of Riverside Village, especially the Spanish American Center which donated the food and provided a DJ.”
About Retirement Housing Foundation
Retirement Housing Foundation (RHF) is a nonprofit organization of 170 communities in 26 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. RHF provides housing and services to more than 18,000 older adults, low income families and people with disabilities.
About The Schochet Companies
The Schochet Companies is a full service real estate development and management firm founded by Jay R. Schochet in 1973. Since that time, the company has developed, owned and/or managed in excess of 7,000 apartments and over 600,000 square feet of retail and commercial space throughout New England and on the West Coast. Today, The Schochet Companies owns and/or manages over 4,500 apartments and 275,000 square feet of commercial space throughout New England. Headquartered in Boston, MA, the company has regional offices in Newport, RI, and Portland, ME, and employs over 160 people.
Please see Attachments below for more information.