State looks to open new shelter for 12 homeless families in Washington County
by Christopher Shea, Rhode Island Current
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But soon, a dozen families experiencing a housing emergency in the southern part of the state would be able to stay in the area under a plan to convert an unoccupied building on the outskirts of the University of Rhode Island’s (URI) Kingston campus into a congregate shelter.
The building on West Independence Way in West Kingston is owned by the state’s Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities & Hospitals (BHDDH), which last used it as a group home during the pandemic for people recovering from COVID-19. It has also been used as an emergency shelter for people with developmental disabilities during storms and power outages, said BHDDH spokesperson Randal Edgar.
A proposal that went before the State Properties Committee Tuesday would have BHDDH lease the property to the state’s Department of Housing, which would have the shelter administered by Westerly-based WARM Center between December and April. But the committee postponed the matter until its next meeting scheduled for Dec. 12 to give officials time to obtain a certificate of insurance and a memorandum of understanding from URI.
“We would have liked to have had this open yesterday, but this is just how things move,” WARM Executive Director Russ Partridge said in an interview. “This is a new project which requires a new process.”
The lease on the 30-bed facility would run through the end of April and would cost $280,000. Partridge said the shelter would be split into four rooms shared by three families.
“It has all the amenities — shower and kitchen,” he said.
Partridge said this building would be the first family shelter in Washington County and that it’s on a bus line, allowing the families to easily access transportation to area services.
“Trying to keep families in the community in which they live helps to turn the situation around more quickly,” he said.
WARM would also provide families with case managers to assist them in finding more permanent housing and employment opportunities, Partridge said. Once the State Properties Committee approves the lease, WARM expects to have the facility up and running within 10 days so families can have a place to stay in time for the holidays.
Partridge said URI students studying social work could get their community service work requirements done at the site in the spring semester without having to travel far from campus.
“We have just about everything lined up,” Partridge said. “We’re just waiting in the wings.”
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