Collective call to action: Support the Mathewson St. Blanket Drive and our unhoused community

“Your donation of blankets and warm clothing directly supports this lifesaving mission.”

From a press release:

In a collaboration led by the Rhode Island State Council of Churches and Indivisible Metro--RI, community momentum is building behind a Blanket Donation Drive for Mathewson Street Church, and the unhoused population it serves. The Blanket Donation Drive was launched on Monday, December 15, and will continue through Friday, January 16, 2026. The Blanket Drive is not only collecting “lightly loved” blankets but also a wide array of items, including sleeping bags, jackets, coats, socks, and gloves.

In support, Providence City Hall and the Providence CIC have both offered to serve as drop-off sites for items. Organizers are directing donors to these sites rather than to Matthewson Street Church, so items can be screened for cleanliness and inventoried before being brought to the church. There are Christmas-wrapped 55-gallon barrels in the lobbies of both buildings for item donations.

Kevin Simon, Director at Mathewson Street Church, expressed immense gratitude to the organizers and supporting institutions, saying that “every little bit helps” in resourcing the unhoused community braving an already bitter winter.

“Without John, a homeless man from Providence, the tragic acts of violence at Brown and MIT would still be an unsolved case,’ said Rhode Island State Council of Churches representative and coordinator for Operation NOD (No One Dies), Harrison Tuttle. “In him and his immeasurable value, we see all those who give everything while having nothing. This serves as a poignant reminder to all of the crucial role compassion plays in fostering a safer community.” From his frontline view through Operation NOD, which aims to prevent deaths from freezing exposure, Tuttle emphasized that, “Your donation of blankets and warm clothing directly supports this lifesaving mission.”

“This collective effort also expresses the value of ego-less coalition building,” says Aiyah Josiah-Faeduwor, who helped organize the effort and is both a Brown and MIT graduate. Particularly, given the tragic events of recent that impacted both his alma maters, Josiah-Faeduwor said that he, “felt compelled to channel the palpable sense of community angst and despair into something necessary and collective that highlights the ‘all,’ above the ‘one,’ the ‘some,’ and the ‘few’” - a mantra he gleaned from the late great Michael Van Leesten.

In this vein of community-based action, Lee Clasper-Torch and Michaela Keegan, co-coordinators of Indivisible Metro-RI, an action group organized for defending democratic institutions against authoritarianism, said that “Building community means showing up for one another, beginning with our neighbors.” He added that the Blanket Drive “demonstrates Indivisible Metro-RI’s commitment and responsibility to our neighbors as part of the work for genuine justice and for the defense of democracy through active, nonviolent resistance to fascism.”

Collective partnering cannot be emphasized enough as this Blanket Drive continues. The organizers are grateful to Providence City Hall and the CIC for graciously offering to host as the primary drop-off sites. With support from Buff Chace, Westminster Lofts has joined in the efforts and engaged its residents in the support. Providence City Councilman John Goncalves has also provided support by committing to the purchase of additional 55-gallon bins for the effort, and the organizers hope to galvanize greater community engagement and momentum to provide vital relief and comfort to a population in dire need.