New shelter for women and children opens in Providence
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — A new OpenDoors shelter for women and children has opened on Elmwood Ave in Providence.
The 572 Elmwood Ave shelter will house twelve homeless families of the reported 58 homeless families in the state, a figure reported by The Rhode Island Coalition to End Homelessness.
OpenDoors said that the first families moved into the shelter last week and that all bedrooms were filled as of Thursday.
The shelter will operate out of a 10,000 square-foot group home that has also operated as a Teen Challenge of New England rehabilitation center.
The shelter will be funded for its first five months by the RI Department of Housing.
The building will be run as a transitional housing program after that period elapses.
“The families moving in were sleeping in their cars with multiple children, it is tragic,” said OpenDoors Deputy Director Dina Bruce. “I’m just glad we were able to open before Christmas.”
One of the largest operators of shelters and transitional housing in Rhode Island, OpenDoors oversees over 300 beds in shelters in Warwick, Pawtucket and Providence.
