When the temperature feels like 22 degrees or below, around 40 volunteers transport people experiencing homelessness to warming centers established through Operation No One Dies, an initiative that works in coordination with the Rhode Island State Council of Churches.
The program received a $200,000 grant from the Executive Office of Housing, according to Kevin Simon, the director of outreach and communications of Mathewson Street Church. The state also recently approved the R.I. State Council of Churches’ request for a $150,000 grant.
On cold nights, unhoused Providence community members gather at Mathewson Street Church. From there, volunteers drive them to the warming centers, which include the Open Table of Christ or Community Church of Providence, or they are given a place to stay within Mathewson Street Church, said Operation NOD Coordinator Harrison Tuttle…