Fall Newsletter

September 2025

Dear Friends,

I’m proud to announce that Worcester East Side CDC and its properties are now a part of Worcester Community Housing Resources. Following more than a year of deliberations, we are delighted to share the news of our merger with all of our supporters.

We hope you will join us in welcoming two East Side colleagues to the WCHR board: Donna Warshaw, who served as executive director of East Side for 10 years, and Debra Bolz, a retired educator and counselor who is active in neighborhood improvement.

Donna has provided a little background on the relationship between East Side and WCHR in the interview below. If you have any questions about the merger, please do not hesitate to call me at 508-799-0322, extension 114, or nptonthat@wchr.org.

Best regards, 

N. Paul TonThat

Executive Director

Q&A with Donna Warshaw on the East Side-WCHR Merger 

How did the idea of this merger begin?

I had been executive director of Worcester East Side since 2012, and when it came time for me to retire, I knew I needed to put my money where my mouth was because I had always felt that having five CDCs in the city was too many. It inhibited our ability to create affordable housing in a timely manner, stretching what should be two-year timeframes into four- or five-year timelines.

So I thought what would be best not just for our organization, but also for the city and the continued development of affordable housing, would be to merge with a similar CDC. East Side was never a large organization, but it was important to me that no one would lose their jobs as part of the merger, so over time, as people left, I just sort of took over the jobs myself so we could slowly bring our staff numbers down for an easy transition.

Why WCHR? 

We had a longstanding relationship with WCHR, who had been managing some of our properties for a few years. We felt we could be very deliberate with them and know what was expected from both parties to ensure a successful merger. All the CDCs in Worcester have their particular areas, but at the end of the day, we all care about the same thing: A boarded-up house anywhere in the city brings the city down.

Any particular projects you’d like to mention?

When I took over Worcester East Side, funding for rehabilitation projects wasn’t flowing, but we did have extra cash. So we worked with a realtor to purchase a number of properties throughout the city that were either abandoned or foreclosed, then we rehabbed them and sold them to first-time home buyers.

What hopes or challenges do you have as a WCHR board member?

I care a lot about asset management and keeping up with maintenance. At East Side, we were always very proud that our properties were the best ones in the neighborhood, and I want to make sure they stay the best and are always lifting up the neighborhood, not bringing it down. My philosophy on development is that I won't develop a property unless I would actually live there myself. No matter what type of dwelling it is, we should be respectful that this is someone’s home where their family lives and gathers. 

How might your experience as the executive director (ED) of a CDC affect your role on the WCHR board?

Having been an ED myself, and a banker before that, I know that one of the ED’s most important jobs is the management of the board—building consensus with all the board members—because that's how you get things done. The death of any organization comes when you have real problems between the board and the executive director. So my job as a board member is basically to support the executive director. I may or may not agree with him on certain matters, but I will be respectful and reasonable and once a decision is made, I will speak as one voice with the ED and the other board members.

Before & After: Uninhabitable Property Becomes New Home



WCHR was hard at work all summer rehabilitating two receivership properties: 12 Congress Street and 28 Albert Street. The "before and after" Albert Street kitchen photos below offer a glimpse of the remodel, which addressed extensive internal damage and infrastructure issues and included new sheetrock and insulation.

Through the state Receivership Expense Assistance for Creating Housing (REACH) program, WCHR works with private contractors, property owners, and the courts to transform distressed and abandoned properties into safe and attractive homes to increase the affordable housing supply, protect public health, and return tax revenue to the city.

Mayor Joins King Street Safety Meeting

In June 2025, WCHR was cc’d on a letter from longtime King Street tenant Amelia Camacho requesting help with unhoused people loitering in her neighborhood, stealing packages, defecating on sidewalks, and scattering trash and drug paraphernalia around. On this particular day, Amelia’s son Daniel was threatened with physical violence after asking a homeless person to leave the stairs of their house.

WCHR Executive Director N. Paul TonThat and Property Manager Jini Henderson met with Amelia and Daniel and arranged for a meeting with Mayor Joseph Petty, the Worcester Police Department, District 4 Councilor Luis Ojeda, area residents, businesses, and the co-chair of Main South Beacon Brightly Neighborhood group.

WCHR’s 6-8 King Street building is one of many homes on the block where residents feel threatened by illegal activity.

The Camacho family were already well-known in the Beacon Brightly group as strong advocates for safety on King Street. Daniel had attended many past meetings with his mother and late father, Sam Camacho, who was WCHR’s maintenance supervisor.

“This problem is not limited to King Street,” said Mayor Joe Petty. “We are working diligently to address the problem of chronic homelessness in Worcester. We need to build more affordable housing, but that takes time.”

The WCHR team is actively working with the City and Main South partners and neighbors to ensure a safe and healthy environment on King Street. We will continue to report on our progress in this newsletter and on our website at wchr.org. If you would like to get involved, please contact WCHR at info@wchr.org or 508-799-0322.

WCHR is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, EIN 22-2719744. Our work providing housing solutions for historically underserved Worcester County residents would not be possible without the generous contributions of our donors and funders. Please consider supporting our mission with a tax-deductible charitable donation.