John Rollins Recreation Center highlights food programs, mentorship and facility needs

John Rollins Recreation Center director Nasha told the Providence Recreational Advisory Board on March 10 that the center has expanded after‑school programming and is addressing food insecurity, mentorship and facilities maintenance at the South Providence site.

The center provides meals to children who attend after school, Nasha said: “So when the kids come directly after school, we give them dinner, even though it's considered a snack. And then around 05:00, 5 30, they get another meal. So we feed them twice.” She described an after‑school program tied to Young Woods Elementary School and year‑round offerings ranging from basketball and soccer to art, garden club and mentorship programs.

Those programs, Nasha said, support both boys and girls; she said a focused effort to increase female participation has produced larger girls’ programs, and she described a boys’ mentorship program that “mirrors our girls' programming so that they feel special too.” The center runs an arts club, garden club and partnerships with local schools and organizations including the Wheeler School to provide additional academic and garden plot access for students.

Why it matters: board members said the center reaches hundreds of children and the programs aim to offer alternatives to street activity during high‑risk months. Nasha and department staff argued that services such as meals, mentorship and modest enrichment activities address immediate community needs where grocery access is limited.

Facility and maintenance issues were a repeated concern. Nasha reported leaking ceilings in the community room and gym, aging gym padding with rodent damage and nonfunctional bleacher mechanisms. She said the center lacks computers for homework support and that lockers included in a 2018 budget line were never installed. Steven Grace, director of recreation, said some items — including an HVAC replacement and gym padding and bleacher repairs — are “on a docket” and are being addressed by capital or facilities teams. He and board members said roof and site drainage problems complicate repairs because the building shares infrastructure with an adjacent school.

On pest control, Grace said the department contracts with a pest vendor and has worked to coordinate schedules with the school department’s contractor to reduce gaps that allowed rodents to move between facilities. He described the problem as citywide but said the department has a vendor who responds and that coordination with the Providence Public School Department has improved scheduling.

Nasha described local responses to food insecurity, including center staff cooking and distributing hot food in nearby neighborhoods, connections with the Rhode Island Food Bank to establish a local pantry, and use of community garden plots managed by a local organizer (identified in the meeting as Archie Johnson). She estimated 12–18 regular participants in the garden program, with participation growing in warmer months as more raised beds are added.

Board members and staff noted membership tracking as a performance tool: Grace said the center had 224 residents signed up in the department system and that the gender breakdown reported from that subset showed about 27.68% female participation. Board members said that membership data helped them plan programming and staffing.

The board praised Nasha’s efforts to expand programs and engage community partners. Chair Simon and others encouraged using the center’s volunteer and partnership work to leverage limited city resources while repairs and capital projects proceed.

Looking ahead, staff said technology upgrades for homework support will likely be pursued through grants and that capital projects for roof, HVAC and gym repairs are in the city’s planning pipeline, though timelines were not specified.