Low income housing is desperately needed in Rhode Island.Now, with a Federal windfall of $1.8 billion, it is time to act.
Although this portrait is not the first picture I made of Juan and Kelly at The Breakfast, it is one I’ve always liked of them, from the many I’ve taken. I like the way she holds him there. And I like his warm smile.
Our first portrait “session” went as follows. She tapped me politely on the shoulder as I navigated a crowd of cold, hungry people and asked, “Could you take a picture for me?” Then added, “Of me and Juan.” I wasn’t exactly sure what she expected but I followed her through the busy room to a table near the open kitchen door. She pointed to a middle aged brown man in a baseball cap calmly consuming a plate of eggs. Without another word, in the midst of all the noise and chaos, she walked behind him, bent over, lovingly encircled him in her arms, then looked up at me with a grin. He, too, flashed a his smile my way, more because of her affectionate embrace than for my camera. Click! The first of many pictures of Juan and Kelly was made.
This nice couple are just two of the many “regulars” that used to come to the Mathewson Street United Methodist Church for their Sunday morning meal. Kathy and I miss them. The pandemic has made The Sunday Friendship Breakfast impossible. This wonderful sit down meal site has been closed since February. The two hundred or so men and women that used to partake of a hot, nourishing meal, of the friendship, and maybe for a new pair of gloves or clean socks, have mostly disappeared. The good folks at Mathewson are now serving a “to go” meal in a styrofoam box. Better than nothing but just not the same.
Kelly might be in her early thirties. Four years ago, when we first met, she still had vague dreams of modeling some day, somewhere. Juan was more realistic, he just hoped for honest work, food on the table and a roof over their heads. He was a bit older then Kelly, how much was hard to say. He said he found his way to Providence from Puerto Rico when he was younger. How he found Kelly he also did not say. His English isn't so good, relying instead on that mischievous smile of his. Kelly does all the talking, a mile a minute, in fact.
I brought their picture to them the following Sunday, a snapshot really, but they were delighted. Some time later they invited me to their spotless third floor walkup apartment in North Providence for conversation and a few more photos. We sat at a worn kitchen table and talked about their lives, a story of many challenges. Juan proudly showed me a piece of kitchen furniture, he had pulled from the trash and dragged up three flights. It was a small buffet, refinished now to looked almost like new. As I said, it hasn’t been easy for Juan and Kelly, harder still during a pandemic. I hope they are still together. I miss them and hope they are well. Jan Armor
A young child with her father at the Sunday Friendship Breakfast, 2019
Kennedy Plaza Video The Bag Lunches Video
These are the faces of people we don't see, "the Invisibles" who we have left behind. All are poor. Many are alone. They carry all of their belongings on their backs or in a bag. Few have a family or a safety net. Many are physically or mentally ill. Some are substance abusers. Others have suffered domestic violence or worse. But after all is said and done, all of these folks still have hopes and dreams, and all want a decent place to live. As one man said, "We may be homeless but we are not hopeless."
These images were made at the Mathewson Street United Methodist Church in Providence during the Sunday Friendship Breakfast, a morning meal served to hundreds of people in need by an army of volunteers.
Today, our worship community and our building partnerships exist solely to support individuals who are currently experiencing homelessness. Honestly, I think we get it right...faith plays a role in what many of our volunteers and members do, but our aim is to accept and meet people where they are, and with no intent to change anyone. I believe that the best proof of that is exhibited by the community of Muslims, Jews, atheists, Buddhist, agnostics, Christians and others who participate in our programming and community. We are also very proud of our years long support from the Rhode Island Foundation, which has strict rules against sponsoring any overtly religious or proselytizing activities.
Our homelessness outreach programming is best known by the Mathewson Street Sunday Friendship Breakfast, the once a week meal that Jan and Kathy volunteer at which serves upwards of 350 people on any given Sunday. In actuality, we serve upwards of 700 meals per week out of Mathewson Street Church, but those meals are much more than that.
The meals are a vehicle to building supportive relationships between folks like you and me who have never experienced homelessness, and those who have or currently are. These relationships have led to dozens of job placements, apartments obtained, and overall stability in the lives of dozens of Rhode Islanders in just the last year alone! We write resumes, transport people to job interviews, furnish apartments, connect individuals to professional services including those which offer mental health, domestic violence, and other specific resource services.
Our proximity to downtown Providence makes us often the first stop for many individuals who are new to this state, new to this country, newly released from prison and reentering society, on and on, we serve as a vital hub and a connection point in the community of service providers, advocates, and support programs.
We also use our large building to support many programs and organizations which work to support vulnerable people, through subsidized rent and no rent at all. These groups include the Oasis drop in center for those battling mental illness, RICARES which combats addiction and substance abuse in myriad ways, RIOP who advocates for seniors and other low income populations, , NA, AA, the BLRI Friday Community Soup Kitchen ...on and on, we are a home for many people and programs who seek to end homelessness by addressing its many root causes.
I like the illustrate for people that while we are best known for our Sunday Friendship Breakfast, that program is merely one of the many services we host and provide. Unfortunately at the moment, like most providers, we are operating in a very different way, our building is almost entirely closed to the public out of concern for everyones safety and well-being.
Coronavirus Update 4-21-2020
We are still reaching out to our friends and are playing a very important role in feeding and being there emotionally as best we can. We distribute to-go meals to individuals on the streets, we send hundreds of meals to shelters and homeless encampments, and we deliver food to many of our formerly homeless but food insecure friends each week. And we long for the day when our building can be filled with music, laughter, smiling faces, hugs, and the very special sense of belonging that people get at Mathewson Street Church.
Affordable housing Is one reason it is so hard to get people into a decent places to live. Go to Signs Of Providence to learn more:
