Mathewson Street United Methodist Church’s caring trustee Paul Medici

By Francisco Luis Gonzalez

That adage “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again” certainly applies to the folks from Mathewson Street United Methodist Church, located on. . .  well. . . Mathewson Street in Providence. Sensitive to the economic collapse, and with gentle pressure from advocates such as John Joyce and Megan Smith (street outreach workers), and homeless advocates John Freitas and Barbara Kail (who, among others had formed a coalition during the tent city period), they tried but failed to get another shelter running in the early months of 2009.

To save the stalled project, state and city service providers such as Noreen Shawcross (Emergency Shelter Task Force), and Jim Ryczek (Rhode Island Coalition for Homeless) and others jumped into the fray—along with Mathewson Pastors Aida Fernandez, David Clyde Morse, and caring trustees. The revitalized coalition managed to get the men’s shelter open the first week of February despite insurmountable odds. The shelter’s capacity is 21 beds; all are thin mattresses on the floor. The beds are new. Ongoing funding is assured from the State’s “Program Assurances’ Fund.”

The first attempt, in January of 2009, failed, according to Pastor Fernandez, “due to costly fire code violations and our inexperience in running the shelter.” The former problem required the influx of big money: close to $50,000 was needed immediately to tackle fire code issues involving the kitchen area. The money problem was resolved through the generous contribution of Calvary United Methodist Church in Arlington, Massachusetts, the Champlin Foundation, and many local community donors. The director of Amos House, Eileen Hayes, was instrumental in resolving the second problem—providing the experienced staff—which is now hard at work; the shelter is alive and buzzing with activity. “The need is critical due to the number of beds needed… the place is nice and clean, well maintained, and the staff treats people with dignity,” says Paul Medici, a longtime volunteer and church trustee.

The night I was there, I saw Mike McGann:  the shelter’s manager was hard at work and joking around with the homeless men. He said that he had been homeless himself four years ago.  He, along with others, takes turns running the shelter nightly. Many men are needed as crises can occur at any moment:   a loud panic attack by a man in the bathroom caused a scramble, and a heavily inebriated man had to be escorted out. Mike was quick to tell me that the actions were always followed-up by consulting other shelters to assess the urgency of the action taken… and to insure the safety of those barred.

Cars and trucks pulled up to bring food. Grace Tabernacle’s Live it Up van drove up, set up a table in front of the church (on the sidewalk) and served hot soup, bread, and coffee. It was Ash Wednesday, a fitting day, and Pastor Ida and Paul Medici gave some of the men, including me, Holy Communion and Holy Ashes.

Editor’s note:

The Mathewson Street Church is located at 134 Mathewson Street in Providence. Shelter tickets are available at Crossroads Rhode Island, located at 160 Broad Street, Providence, RI (401.521.2255-x0) and are distributed on a first come-first serve basis. The Mathewson Street Shelter is  a “men only” shelter.