Inside Charlesgate shelter, Mark Patinkin meets families who have found a new life
There’s a perception of the unhoused as single souls on the street – but what about families?
Today, I give you four.
I met them at the state’s newest shelter – this one in a high-rise.
You know the Charlesgate senior complex on Providence’s North Main Street, opposite the McDonald’s?
I didn’t realize it includes four buildings, one of which recently had three floors with 57 rooms converted by the state for families with nowhere else to go.
All 57 rooms are now filled.
They’re being managed by Amos House, run by Eileen Hayes for the last 23 years. I asked her how bad the Rhode Island homeless situation is these days.
She’s never seen it worse.
The state, Eileen said, is 2,000 apartments short of what’s needed for folks either in shelters or cars, tents and the street. Housing prices are so out of control that she knows of 180 people who can’t find affordable apartments even with subsidized vouchers.
That’s why the 57 rooms at Charlesgate are a big deal. Families have to fit into each, but having been built as one-room "homes" for seniors, they are decent sized, with bathrooms, and are a blessing.
You picture shelters as drab places, but the Charlesgate family floors have a good vibe. They’re child-focused, with staffed play areas, tutoring and occasional pizza parties. Amos House also has on-site counseling, especially for addiction, a big issue for the unhoused.
'Homeless and lost'
My first stop is the room – the home at the moment – of Jonathan Aquino, 31, and Tanya O’Connell, 33, the two now engaged.
They live here with four kids, the oldest, Raffaella, 10, and two little ones present – Zayla, 15 months, and Zekiel, 4 months. Their 8-year-old, Rosalea, was still at an after-school program when I visited.
Jonathan and Tanya moved into Charlesgate last September after being put up by the state at the Extended Stay America hotel overlooking Interstate 95 near the central Post Office. Hotels are often used for shelter space, a pricey option that's tough on government housing budgets.
Jonathan and Tanya used to have their own apartment off Branch Avenue but rents have soared since the pandemic.
“We can’t afford it no more,” said Tanya.
I asked if either had been homeless.
Jonathan nodded. He was on the street for a while.
“Place to place,” he said. “The police breaking me up.”
Like many in shelters, the two have tumultuous life stories.
Tanya’s mom had drug and mental-health issues.
“She moved everywhere,” Tanya said, “stayed with this person, that person.”
Jonathan’s dad went back to the Dominican Republic and remained, but before that, had issues that were passed down.
“I struggled with alcoholism,” Jonathan told me, “because my father spent his whole life drinking. But I want to say I’m five years sober.”
Jonathan has done construction, landscaping, restaurant and farm work, but financial management has been a challenge for him. He’s now working on getting a job.
Tanya did telemarketing and worked in pizza places. I asked if she had a favorite pizza style. It got a smile.
“Definitely old-school Italian brick oven.”
What would they do without this room?
“Be homeless and lost,” said Jonathan. “We don’t have anybody.”
I asked why he plans to marry Tanya.
“Every expectation of what I had for a woman,” he said, “she’s all that and more.”
I turned to Tanya – same question about Jonathan.
“He teaches me how to be a better person,” she said. “When I fall, he lifts me up. And vice versa.” She smiled. “And he’s handsome.”
'I got being a father right'
It was time to meet the next family. Many here are single moms, but there are solo dads, too, and I ended up talking with two of them.
Start with Justin, 40, and his son Omari, 16. They moved here a month ago after being put up by the state in a La Quinta hotel. Before that, they were on the street for two months. Justin was raised in Pawtucket by his mom, who had issues with alcohol.
There were some shelves in the room with boxing gloves, weight plates and a medicine ball. Justin worked for a while as a trainer at the Pawtucket Y. He’s trying to find the same kind of job again.
“I’ve put in about 20 applications,” he says.
How long have the two been a family?
“Since I was 10,” said Omari. “I chose him. My mother was unstable at one point.”
A place to call home: At Providence homeless encampment, Mark Patinkin finds stories of pain, hope and 'family'
“I got a lot of things wrong in my life,” said Justin, “but I got being a father right.”
He admits to some bad choices, like drugs. In his case, it was just weed, but it was too much.
How did they survive while homeless?
Mostly, they slept in public parks, walking back and forth to a storage locker where they kept their things. If it wasn’t for this room, they might still be out there.
Most important, they have each other.
“What’s that quote?” said Justin. “It’s quicker to get there alone, but it’s stronger to get there with somebody. I couldn’t leave Omari behind.”
'We’re grateful for this place'
Hector was the other single dad I met. He’s 55 and has been in a room here since February with his 15-year-old daughter, Rose.
“We’re grateful for this place,” Hector said.
He was wearing a red hat that said, “Jesus is my boss.” Rose sat with a blanket around her shoulders.
A few years ago, Rose had lived with her grandmother.
“But I was kind of a troublemaker,” said Rose, “so she sent me to live with my mom.”
That didn’t work out, either.
“Don’t get me started,” said Rose. “Mentally she was all over the map. And her place wasn’t a good situation. Rats, flies, it was nasty.” There were addiction problems, too.
“So I said, ‘I’ll take her,’” said Hector.
That was last June.
“Is he a good dad?”
“I feel comfortable enough to tell him what’s going on in my life,” said Rose.
“I was 15 once,” said Hector, “so I know it’s not easy.”
Hector has applied for SSI. He used to work in restaurant kitchens but that’s hard for him now.
“I can’t be around a crowd of people,” he said. “My PTSD kicks in.”
He explained: “A lot of childhood trauma growing up.”
Rose goes to high school in Providence. She hopes one day to be an eyelash tech.
Hector says again how grateful he is for the room.
“If it wasn’t for this place,” he said, “me and her would be out there.”
Things are different now
My last stop was with a family of three – Jose Ortiz, 25, Vicky Aponte, 23, and their 6-year-old daughter, Jayah.
They’ve been here six weeks.
“Before that,” said Jose, “we were at Super 8 in West Greenwich, and before that extended stay in Warwick.”
For a while, they lived with Vicky’s mom, but she got backed up on rent, and now lives with some of her other adult kids.
But she does her best.
Does Vicky have a dad?
“They don’t see eye-to-eye,” Jose explains.
Homelessness in RI: RI has enough apartments for only half of its lowest-income residents, report warns
Jose is on SSI for back, shoulder and other physical issues, but Vicky is working at Popeye’s in Warwick.
“I do everything except cook,” Vicky says. “I cash people out. I take orders. I pack orders. I serve people their food. I clean out the parking lot.”
Jose’s mom overcame a drug issue and is a shelter counselor now.
“She turned her life around,” said Jose. But her place is too small for them to join her there.
How about his dad?
“I haven’t seen my dad since I was a little kid.”
Jose recalls his mom, despite struggles, always being able to find affordable apartments. "Just like that," he said.
But things are different now. It’s hard in any neighborhood to find anything under $1,500 – and even that’s well beyond his reach.
“And nothing’s included,” Jose said.
But they’re happy for the moment in Charlesgate. God knows, Jose says, where they’d be without it.
On my way out, I passed staffers talking to folks in the corridors, and the kids' play area was full of life. The state, and Amos House, have done a great job turning this into a community – 57 rooms that are safe for families.
But so many more are needed.
mpatinki@providencejournal.com
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Charlesgate family homeless shelter offers opportunity for parents, kids
