The council chambers at Providence City Hall transformed into an impromptu overnight warming center on Tuesday night. Volunteers dropped off hot pizza, fresh fruit, bottled water, and winter coats as unhoused people filtered in off the streets.
“I’ve got to stay here because I have nowhere else to stay. I’ve been sleeping outside,” 62-year-old Bill Bailey said. “I’m here because I could freeze to death tonight. It’s too cold.”
As they watched the forecast drop into the low teens, City Councilors Miguel Sanchez and Justin Roias decided to try a new tactic: mobilizing community resources to help fill gaps in the homeless response system.
“What we’re doing is opening up the people’s house, the council chambers, to be an overnight gathering space where folks you know, will be able to come here, put their feet up, get connected [to resources],” Sanchez said.
Sanchez said they decided to use the council chambers because it was a space they had some control over. At other facilities, like community centers or churches, they would have faced permitting issues.
“We were thinking about many different ways to fill the void and gap that has been left behind by the city’s and state’s response,” Roias said. “It’s mind-boggling because winter arrives every year and we’re always chasing emergency shelter infrastructure.”
This story was reported by The Public’s Radio. You can read the entire story here.
