Homeless in RI: Stories from an East Providence Shelter during the Snowstorm – Bernie Beaudreau

by Bernie Beaudreau, community advocate, contributing writer

Mayor Roberto DaSilva has again, as he did in January last year, opened the Robert Rock Senior Center in East Providence for part of last week and continuing through Sunday, February 1, pending availability of volunteers (2 per shift needed).  I volunteered for two-night shifts early in the week and saw a few familiar faces among the homeless guests.  Note: To volunteer, contact Andrea Vargas at avargas@eastprovidenceri.gov.

I was able to speak with some of the guests, hearing a brief part of their stories.

Joe, 67 years old  (who I’ve mentioned before) was sitting in the lobby when I arrived for the 1 AM to 7 AM shift.  His tent in the woods had collapsed on him in the middle of the night from the weight of more than a foot of snow dumped by Sunday’s epic storm.  Joe described crawling out of his flat, heavy tent, grabbing what he could and being extremely glad that he turned off his heater before he fell asleep. He made his way to the Senior Center in East Providence, walking a mile through the deep snow and waiting to take the #35 RIPTA bus to get to the shelter.

Ronald, 64 years old, has a tent behind a Route 6 shopping mall. He could not make it back to his tent in the heavy storm but was able to get to the shelter.  He told me that two weeks ago the East Providence Police found him on a freezing night huddled in a doorway.  They took him to the Rhode Island Hospital for emergency treatment for hypothermia. Five of his toes had to be amputated due to frostbite.  Richard was a baker for a local bread factory for 25 years. He proudly stated, “We baked 10,000 loaves of bread every night for distribution to schools and stores all over New England.”  His insufficient income now leaves him homeless.

Amos, 68, came into the shelter from his “camping” spot in the front yard of a local church. I asked if they mind his tent being there and he said he has no tent, just a deep freeze-grade waterproof sleeping bag for which he paid $500.  Only his sleeping bag protects him from the rain, snow and cold. “This isn’t my first rodeo,” he told me.  He has been homeless off and on for many years. “The East Providence Police have been very good to me, stopping by to check on me, bringing me coffee,” he said.  He has a severe limp having shattered his femur in a construction accident.  He says he walks about ten miles a day to get around to services and get supplies.

James, 64, has been living out of his car for a year and a half.  He parks in commuter parking lots.  He starts his car to run the heat for a while to get to sleep.  He wakes up and starts the car again.  He was glad for a shelter bed as his car has a flat tire and cannot get around.

Steve, a younger man, has been sleeping under the highway bridges in several places around Providence, no tent, just a sleeping bag.

On Tuesday afternoon I reached out to nine other tent dwellers I have been delivering fuel to for their heaters.  Most tents were snow bound but still standing, only one tent collapsed completely because the occupant left the tent, not there to push the accumulating snow off the outside, found temporary shelter in a local $90 a night motel, using up a big chunk of her paycheck.  She has no place go now and her money is running out.

Another homeless tent dweller is spending the week couch surfing.

Another couple were forced to move their tent and belongings into paid storage on Wednesday and find a hotel room before the storm as the City planned to remove all the homeless tents in the area on Thursday. They did demolish the tent site of one homeless man on Thursday.

Homeless folks in need are directed to the state’s six RAPs (Regional Access Points). See: https://housing.ri.gov/resources/individuals-experiencing-homelessness.  They’ll likely find that there are no beds immediately available or in the case of one transitional shelter, add their name to a waiting list of more than a hundred people.

There simply are not enough shelter beds, and not nearly enough state government investment in low-cost, deeply subsidized housing, to meet the need.  What will the East Providence shelter guests do after Sunday?

Wednesday’s local news reported a man Providence Police found dead lying on the sidewalk.  He was likely homeless.  Why he could not get to a shelter, nobody knows.  He died a horrible death alone in the bitter cold.  No one was there to save him.

Publisher’s Note: Some readers may remember that it was at this time – January, 2025 – the annual Point in Time count where volunteers counted a homeless man presumably asleep on a park bench – but he was not – he was dead – having frozen to death while volunteer counters obliged their promise not to disturb. We remember RICO

Bernie Beaudreau, Community Volunteer

Rumford, RI