PROVIDENCE – As the temperature neared the teens and the wind chill worsened Tuesday evening, dozens of people filed into Providence City Hall to escape the cold at an impromptu warming center.
With shelters across the state inundated and at capacity, unhoused Rhode Islanders have few options for respite. Over the course of 24 hours, City Councilors Justin Roias and Miguel Sanchez led the effort to turn the Council chamber into a volunteer-run resting site.
“Our goal is to keep people alive tonight, and this is sort of the nuclear option. There are virtually zero options available if you’re homeless tonight, living on the streets. There are no beds available,” said Roias.
Earlier that day while lawmakers prepared to convene for the first day of the legislative session, advocates gathered for a vigil outside the State House, calling for compassion and policy that could save the lives of unhoused people at risk.
In 2024, the state had the second-highest rate of chronic homelessness in the nation, and at least 54 Rhode Islanders died while experiencing homelessness.
Providence City Hall’s room 303 chamber opens as a resting place Tuesday night.
Opposition from the mayor
Mayor Brett Smiley’s office was firm in rebuking the idea that City Hall could be a suitable substitution for shelters.
“I oppose tonight’s action by the City Council. City Hall does not have the resources, expertise or proper facilities to serve as an emergency shelter,” Smiley said in a statement.
Sanchez noted that the duo had tried to find another location first, reaching out to local recreation and community centers, but getting told no because of the liability risks.
“For us, the liability is not as big as having folks sleep outside tonight. As City Councilors, we have full rights to the third-floor City Council chambers. We like to refer them as to the ‘People’s House,’” said Sanchez.
Roias, who works as a school social worker, and Sanchez, whose day job is doing homeless outreach work for the nonprofit Better Lives Rhode Island, insisted that their team had appropriate expertise. Volunteer calls were circulated among different community organizations, and many of the volunteers on Tuesday had experience working at shelters or directly with unhoused people. Per Smiley’s decision, a police unit was posted outside the makeshift shelter and EMS was also on-site.
“The city is supporting multiple emergency warming shelters across Providence with available beds that are professionally staffed with the resources and tools our unhoused population needs,” added Smiley.
Roias explained that the official warming centers are so full that all they can offer people is a chair to spend the whole night on.
“I would ask the public out there – an they possibly sit in a chair and hold their necks up for eight hours? And then I’d ask them if they think that’s humane?” he said. “Every year in this state, we’re chasing emergency shelter infrastructure. We know that winter comes every year so we should be prepared, but it seems like we never are.”
The need for emergency shelters
Brandon Wisehart heard about the City Hall warming site from his Better Lives Rhode Island caseworker, who came and found him where he usually stays outside. Wisehart has been looking to get into a shelter and said he isn’t picky about where to go, but “it’s been a lot of difficulty, especially in the wintertime. There hasn’t really been any vacancy.”
The Council members said they were prepared to host 60-70 people but would not turn anybody away and would open other rooms on the floor if needed. Donated winter coats, snacks, and stacks of pizza boxes were up for grabs in the chamber, which opened its doors from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.
Like Wisehart’s caseworker, other outreach advocates in Roias and Sanchez’s circles spread the news by word of mouth in a grassroots style. Dwane Thibodeau heard about it at his church and spent the day driving around Providence letting folks at encampments know.
“The politicians, they don’t know what we go through. I’ve been homeless before,” he said. “I’m about to take a trip up to Broad Street to see how many people we can help out tonight, so they don’t have to be another statistic in Rhode Island.”
The councilors hope to keep the mobilization going and to have the chamber open every night until the polar vortex passes, but they’ll be making those decisions as each day comes.
“I’ve been telling folks that this situation is going to get worse before it gets better because our elected and city leaders are not acting quickly and boldly enough to address this very delicate issue,” said Sanchez.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Providence city councilors open City Hall chamber to the homeless