City officials warn shelter capacity will fall short as Open Doors opening slips toward October

Council Vice President Sierra told the Woonsocket City Council on Aug. 18 that renovations at the planned Open Doors shelter at 181 Cumberland Street are still under way and that a Sept. 1 opening is unlikely.

"A September 1 opening date does not look attainable, perhaps sometime in early to mid October," Sierra said, and she said Open Doors has assumed operations at 356 Cumberland Street in the meantime.

The vice president presented construction and permitting updates from city staff and from Open Doors. Sierra said the city solicitor had told the council the building—s fire alarm system remains under repair and that the city is completing an application to the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management tied to the building permit because of the property—s proximity to water. Sierra also said Open Doors representative Nick Horton has told the city the project—s timeline has shifted.

Why it matters: Council members, the mayor and city staff said they expect more people to be unhoused this fall than available shelter beds will accommodate. Council and city staff acknowledged state-level funding changes that reduced shelter capacity elsewhere in Northern Rhode Island and warned that residents living in encampments could remain unsheltered when a ban on outdoor camping takes effect this fall.

Most important facts

- Interim shelter operations: Sierra said Open Doors is operating at 356 Cumberland Street while work continues at 181 Cumberland Street.

- Bed counts presented: 356 Cumberland (Clinton Street) has 40 beds; 181 Cumberland is planned for 50 beds, producing a net gain of about 10 beds when occupants move from the interim site. Sierra also said the Harvest Community site will add roughly 28 beds; she recalled a prior estimate of about 60 people living in encampments during winter months and said that number may be higher in summer.

- State funding changes: Director Morrissey (city staff) told the council there had been a net loss of shelter beds in Rhode Island this year under a new state funding formula; the Northern Rhode Island (NRI) shelter in Smithfield is closing, the director said, and that will increase pressure on local placement options.

- Enforcement and site closure actions: Mayor Beauchamp described talks with Rhode Island Energy and the Department of Transportation to install fences and no-trespass signage at locations such as the Hammond Avenue bridge. "Once we have that, there is nobody living underneath the Hammond Avenue bridge. It is completely clean," the mayor said, while acknowledging some…