By Melissa Howard
Starting on March 15th, there was action taking place on the steps of the State House, letting people know that the winter homeless shelters will be closing. From April 15th to May 31st.
There will be a number of people looking for a safe and warm place to sleep at night. Rhode Island Homeless Advocacy Project wanted to let our State lawmakers beaware of
this issue.
RIHap wants to make people aware that there will be 136 people out on the street once these shelters close and they will not have a place to go. With the shelter systems full already, there will be no room for anyone else.
RIHap is hoping that if they get enough people to notice this is a problem and will find ways to resolve this issue.
They are planning to go to the State House and continue to hand out handouts. Stating their key points and explaining why more help is needed.
Here is a list of winter shelters and when they are planning to close.
Shelters Closing Date # of People
St. Paul’s Church (Pawt.) 5/31 15
Mathewson Street Church (Prov.) 4/15 21
Harvest Community Church (Woon.) 4/16 25
Emmanuel House (Prov.) 5/31 (?) 35
WARM Center Overflow (Westerly) 3/31 6
Crossroads Women’s Shelter (Prov.) 5/31 20
Aquidneck Overflow
(Newport/Middletown) 3/31 1-10
ProCAP Family Apartment (Prov.) 3/31 5-6 apts.
In total, there will be 136-138 people out on the street. Many may think that because the warmer weather is on its way, that it won’t be so bad. That’s not true, you can still get hypothermia at 35f and if you get wet, you can get hypothermia at 50f.
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