Under the shadow of the Crawford Street Bridge in downtown Providence, just feet from where a friend died earlier this month, a few homeless people are living in a camp of three or four tents to raise awareness of their plight.
And because there is safety in numbers.
Though several organizations operate shelters in the city - a few within walking distance of the tents - many of the roughly 15 people here prefer to sleep outside.
"Down here, I know the community. I know the people," said Ernest Alther, a Vietnam veteran living here since Sunday, a day after the camp was set up.
The "tent city" is a project of the Homeless Peoples' Action Committee, a group of homeless and formerly homeless people, and receives support from the Brown student group, Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere, or "HOPE." The camp, consisting of a few tents, a couple of lanterns and boxes of supplies, is sandwiched between two roads. A well-worn track of packed-down snow leads down to the camp from the street, trodden down by well-wishers and members of the media.
Roland Colpitts, a middle-aged man wearing two coats and a white, knitted cap, said the camp should be "a last alternative" after the shelters. But for those who don't stay in the shelters, it's best to stick together.
"We wanted to get together so another one of us doesn't have to die alone," Colpitts said.
Earlier this month, Paul Langlois died under this very bridge. His bedroll still lies here, undisturbed, steps away from the tents. A service held Wednesday morning at Beneficent Church on Weybosset Street honored him and 30 other homeless people who died over the last year.
To avoid another death, Colpitts said, he and others have been making rounds to places where other homeless people sleep - places he says the police don't know to check. They've had some luck getting some to go to shelters, and those who won't go to shelters sometimes come join them in the tents.
Colpitts said residents of the tent city take shifts keeping watch over one another.
"Your backpack is your life," he said. "You don't want to wake up and find it's not there."
Many tent city dwellers say they are fed up with shelter services - some for personal reasons, such as dislike of crowds, others because they have been barred from shelters before.
Barbara Ferrara, who has been staying at the tent city since Saturday, said she can't stand the fights and drugs she ran into at shelters. She said she was banned from shelters after she left to rent an apartment with roommates - only to be back out on the streets after her roommates were evicted.
Anne Nolan, president of Crossroads Rhode Island, an organization that runs emergency shelters, said that though "occasionally, people are barred for behavioral infractions or safety violations," nobody is excluded during bad weather.
"We will not leave somebody out in the cold in the winter," she said.
Meghna Philip '11, a member of HOPE, does outreach for the tent city, bringing food and publicity. She said the group wants to see funding restored to programs such as the Neighborhood Opportunities Program, which provided funds for construction and rent subsidies. That program, and others, were recently cut as Rhode Island struggles to balance its budget.
HOPE plans to lobby the state for a change to the "program assurances," agreements between the state and shelters run by Crossroads and the Urban League of Rhode Island, Philip says. The assurances, which determine how shelters are run and allow for complaints, are vague and not enforced, she said.
Megan Smith '10, another member of HOPE who volunteers at the tent city, said she wants to see the local government take more action.
"The city and the state have abdicated their responsibility," she said, adding that the city of Warwick has adopted a 10-year-plan to end homelessness. "We'd like Providence to have the same foresight," she said.
Meanwhile, the tent city has received plenty of attention from newspapers, radio and television. People have brought food, blankets, brand-new backpacks and tents. The police have also been cooperative.
And Colpitts said he is not worried about ice and snow. He plans to stay under the bridge for as long as he needs to, "until we can get something done."
"I've woken up under a foot of snow before," he said.
