Homeless tents moved to St. Edward’s Church spark concern among neighbors

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Roughly 70 people were displaced from two homeless encampments in Providence on Tuesday, some of them moving their tents to St. Edwards Church on Branch Avenue.

Neighbors of the church told ABC 6 News that they are concerned.

“We have no idea who these people are, they could be registered sex offenders, felons, convicted of child porn, we don’t know,” William Prior, a neighbor of the church, said. “My mother is elderly, I’m a disabled vet, there’s single women that live around here. Everybody is scared out of their minds. We don’t need this, I’m sorry we don’t.”

Homeless encampments located at Houghton Street and Branch Avenue off Exit 25, were deemed a safety concern and cleared by the city.

Travis Lynn, who lives next to the church, said it is not an ideal situation for anyone involved.

“You feel for everybody involved,” Lynn said. “The neighbors don’t know what’s going on, everything’s chaotic, and you want for the encampment to get what they need as well.”

“But it’s a bad situation however you cut it,” Lynn continued. “And you just hope for better infrastructure and a timely response, because this is not a sustainable way for anyone, the encampment or the community to be living like this right now.”

Prior said, by clearing the encampments, the city just moved the problem elsewhere with no consideration for residents.

“Father Ed told none of us, so I’m very disappointed in the church,” Prior explained. “We’ve been loyal to the church for years, my family has been here for 100 years on this street, no more, we’re done with Saint Edwards.”

Lynn said Mayor Brett Smiley should be responsible for fixing the problem.

“It’s a baseline human rights violation, it’s hard to find the words,” Lynn said. “Just hoping things get resolved imminently among Councilman Roias and Mayor Smiley, cause if not, frankly it’s their camp.”

ABC 6 News reached out to Mayor Smiley’s office and is waiting to hear back.

News crews also reached out to the church and were told the priest was not available to speak.

Homeless advocates are calling on the city to address shelter capacity and lack of affordable housing, as it was announced Tuesday that a temporary housing village built off 95 South behind Foxy Lady will not open until this fall.

The Rhode Island Coalition to End Homelessness shared the following statement regarding the situation:

“As with any encampment raid, it is always difficult to know where residents relocate. Some residents have already left the encampment. Unfortunately, most do not have a shelter option. They will most likely relocate to another encampment or a non-shelter alternative. These raids make it difficult for street outreach workers to keep track of clients. We will continue working with state and local leaders to find alternatives to these inhumane raids.”