The Occupy Providence movement on Friday achieved a concrete accomplishment for its months-long encampment at Burnside Park.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence opened a daytime shelter for the homeless at the Emmanuel House in Providence. It is expected to accommodate between 35 and 50 people a day.
Occupy members made the shelter a condition of their leaving downtown Providence.
Providence Public Safety Commissioner Stephen Pare said he's thankful for the church's initiative and for stepping in to satisfy the demands of the Occupy group.
"It's a win for our most vulnerable people in these tough economic times that find themselves homeless. It's a win for the city as well because we're supporting a homeless center here. And it's a win for Occupy Providence. They're helping people that we care about," Pare said.
The shelter will provide various services to the homeless, including clothes and job searches.
"We don't want to start growing couch potatoes. We want them to utilize their time and learn how to socialize and network and how to just communicate with others and reach out," said Dottie Perreault of Emmanuel House.
It wasn't clear when Occupy Providence would move out of the park, but Pare said he expects the encampment to be gone by midnight Saturday.
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