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PICA food pantry expands

Aside from the food pantry, PICA organizes several other programs:

The Friday evening Community Meal feeds 11-12,000 people a year, most of whom are homeless or residents of subsidized housing. The meal takes place at 14 Mathewson St. in Providence.

The Resident Advocate provides supportive services, crisis intervention, and homeless prevention to the most fragile, multi-issued residents of Dexter Manor, a 10-story public housing unit downtown.

The Homeless Outreach Conselor invites the homeless in for services including help with housing, legal issues, sobriety programs, and advocacy at court. He also distributes basic needs items such as clothing, toiletries, small household items, and food. This program is located at the First Universalist Church, 250 Washington St., Providence.

 
 

There is a young man who is getting out of DCYF (Department of Children, Youth and, Families). He has mixed feelings about today; on the one hand he is happy about getting out. On the other hand, he is worried about where he is going to go tonight. After today he won’t have a place to stay.

In most cases once children turn 18 the courts close their cases and they are no longer in the custody of DCYF. Once they are released from DCYF they have to leave the place they were living, which begs the question: Where do they go? Most often in Rhode Island, the answer to this question is: the streets.

Read the full article here.

The January issue of Street Sights can be found around Providence and Rhode Island. For a list of distribution sites, email us at streetsights@gmail.com, or call us at (401) 421-6458.

To download a complete copy of the January issue, clickhere!

Federal health experts claim Rhode Island's human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) practices and care for our prisoners and released inmates are the best in the USA.

95% of released inmates accepting help at the Miriam Hospital get their medical care during the 1 1/2 year enrolled in the Project Bridge Program, a program designed to be a 'bridge' between incarceration and release. 46% got housing, 71% joined mental health care, and 51% joined addiction help. 97% of those individuals released with HIV had addiction problems and 34% were on medication for mental problems while in prison. Of those on this program, only 1/2 as many reoffended during that time period compared to those not in the program.

As A. T. Wall, the Director of Department of Corrections said a few years ago: "Someone that has an infectious disease and that we release to the community without giving them support is going to cause harm out there in the community as surely as if they had committed a crime."

For the full story, click here.

Easter Sunday Meals
Sunday, April 12

McAuley House - 11:15 am
St. Patrick's - 11 am
Providence Rescue Mission - 11 am


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