Four Providence churches launch audacious plan to combat homelessness by providing winter warming centers

“The model we’re collectively participating in here today will not only serve as a model for us, but also for the rest of the state," said Harrison Tuttle.

November 8, 2022: A corrections, with apologies:

The Housing Department wanted to clarify that these churches are operating “warming centers,” not “warming shelters.” The difference is both semantic and legal. The application submitted to the state was to operate warming centers with cots, which, according to the state, is an important distinction when it comes to approving the spaces for this use. The fault is entirely mine. I should have been more precise in my use of language.

The idea is simple enough: Four Providence churches, downtown’s Mathewson Street United Methodist Church, the Open Table of Christ on Broad Street’s Providence/Cranston line, and the Community Church of Providence on the east side. The Providence Friends Meeting house, also on the east side, is considering offering space. The participating churches will open on-premises emergency centers when the “real feel”¹ temperature is 22 degrees or less. Accomplishing this goal requires training people to perform the surprisingly complex and subtle job of ensuring the health and safety of those in need of shelter.

And it will be a job. The Rhode Island State Department of Housing has made grants available to both open the centers and pay the people who will help run them. Around 175 people crowded into Mathewson Street Church last Thursday to learn about this ambitious plan and receive some of the training they will need, including conflict de-escalation and the proper use of Narcan.

“We’re gathered here tonight for one reason,” said Kevin Simon, Director at Mathewson Street United Methodist Church. “To ensure that no Rhode Islander is left outside in the cold months and that we have the tools to ensure that we open safe and respectful places for our friends this winter. We have seen the response from the state: They are providing approximately 475 additional shelter beds in the coming months. Those are scattered throughout the state. We know that the four churches and meeting spaces that have stepped up will be critical lifelines for our friends.

“Some of you may be joining us for the first time, and some of you have been coming to our regular meetings over the last few months. There has been extensive work to put transportation, food, and supplies in place to ensure that basic human needs are met at each location each night.

“The space you’re sitting in right now opened up as an overnight shelter last year, at the tail end of the winter. We had anywhere between 20 and 30 people sleeping overnight, with three to four staff members to help navigate things. This year, we plan to open a similar model at four potential sites. You will hear from skilled members of our community over the next hour or so about tools that will enable us to open these safe spaces. It will take all of us here to make this work. Your support will be critical, so we are grateful to everyone for being here tonight to join us in helping to keep our friends safe over the next few months.”

The idea for this project came from community activist Harrison Tuttle.

“If we can keep this train going, we’re going to be a force to reckon with,” said Tuttle to the audience. “The model we’re collectively participating in here today will not only serve as a model for us, but also for the rest of the state. This model was created by individuals who are currently experiencing homelessness. We will operate on a policy of 22 degrees, real feel. At seven o’clock the previous day, 24 hours in advance, we will issue a notification to all of you that we are going live. During that process, I will call you to ask if you can commit to working the following night.

“Based on that policy and the money we’ve received from the state, and given the number of people here, we’re looking at calling you one or two times a month, so if you’re looking for a part-time job that will to pay multiple days a week, this won’t be it, because we’re not going to be able to open every week.

“But we want everybody here to be trained on what to do when that moment comes, whether you’re in a volunteer role or a paid position.”

Eric Hirsch, Director of the Rhode Island Homeless Advocacy Project (RIHAP) and a professor at Providence College, provided some context for the housing and homelessness conditions in Rhode Island. RIHAP is a self-advocacy group of people with lived experience who are trying to end homelessness in Rhode Island.

“I oversee the State’s Homeless Management Information System, which is the database that tracks homelessness in the state,” said Professor Hirsch. “Back in 2019, we did something called the point-in-time count. During the point-in-time count, we counted the total number of people who were homeless on that night. We found about a thousand people; 70 of them were living outside at the end of January. At that time, I thought that was outrageous. It is unacceptable that in the middle of winter in a New England state like Rhode Island, we have 70 people living outside. Then COVID hit, which had a tremendous economic impact on people and the centers. We had to reduce the density in the centers as we saw a steady climb from 70 to about 200 the following year, then 300, then 400+, and now we’re certainly over 500, probably in the 600- to 700-range.

“Let’s face it,” continued Professor Hirsh, “The reason there are so many people out there is due to market failure, specifically the failure of the housing market to provide adequate housing. A majority of households in the state can’t afford to rent a two-bedroom apartment. That’s why there are so many homeless people. It is not due to any personal failings or any characteristics of people who are experiencing homelessness. The one characteristic those experiencing homelessness have in common is that they don’t have enough money to rent an apartment. The only solution to this is for the government to step in and subsidize rents, build projects for lower-income individuals, and ensure that people have access to those projects and receive the necessary services to remain there.

“We are 50 out of 50 states in terms of housing production at any level, but especially for our lower-income people. We aren’t building that housing, so it has to be built by the government. We need to support the effort to build permanent supportive and deeply subsidized housing, and make that happen as soon as possible. That requires a long-term political movement. I have to give the state credit. They’re coming up with more winter shelter beds than they ever have before. That’s a positive thing.

“I was worried, back when COVID hit, that we would normalize having hundreds of living people outside, and that’s exactly what has happened,” concluded Professor Hirsch. “We have to reverse that. We have to find a solution and provide housing for people. In the meantime, we need collective efforts like this to ensure that people have shelter beds overseen by people who are respectful of the people in them. Unfortunately, that is not always happening in Rhode Island. That’s one of the reasons we need churches like Mathewson and the other churches that are going to do this to make sure that people are treated humanely.”

The causes of homelessness are complex and intersectional, as explained by Donn King, an advocate with lived experience.

“Many experiencing homelessness have preexisting trauma,” said King. “We’ve got childhood abuse, domestic violence, and other traumatic events, which lead to becoming unhoused. We’ve got mental health conditions, reduced coping mechanisms, domestic violence, substance abuse, and family conflict. We’ve got high-risk environments, chronic stress, loss of stability and routine, which may not seem like a biggie, but a lot of us run on routine, and without it, we fail to function.

“Then we’ve got the challenges and centers, which leads to not only being unhoused but being unhoused in the street - in a tent and not in an environment which is thought of as safe.”

After this introduction, the lessons began. Mikayla Serrano, Peer Mentor Employment and Training Program Manager at the House of Hope, covered engagement with dignity and trauma-informed care. Stacy, a person with lived experience in long-term recovery, discussed how to recognize and respond effectively to overdose, including the use of Naloxone. Leo, who has been providing safety and security at Mathewson Street Church since 2012, discussed de-escalation training and verbal de-escalation techniques. Phyllis, an advocate with lived experience, spoke about CPR.

“So much of what has been talked about tonight is very basic if we’re going to be decent humans,” said Mathewson Street’s Kevin Simon, wrapping things up. “It’s about treating people with respect and kindness. If we approach this with that mindset, this will be a success, and we will save and transform lives. People will feel like they matter. It’s not only going to keep people from dying on that given night, but it’s going to help them take positive steps forward in their journey.

1. Real Feel accounts for effects other than temperature that affect the rate at which heat leaves or enters our bodies.