PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Providence City Council sent a blunt message Tuesday night by opening up the City Council Chamber to help protect homeless people during a bitter blast of January weather. “There is just not enough room, shelter beds for our most vulnerable neighbors,” said Ward 6 City Councilor Miguel Sanchez. Sanchez is also a street outreach worker with Better Lives Rhode Island, a non-profit that helps homeless people. Sanchez said he doesn’t think the city and state are working quickly enough to help those on the streets during the freezing cold. “We’re taking it on a day by day basis, hopefully this sends a strong enough message to city leadership, to state leadership, on something that folks have been calling for weeks now is for the governor to declare a public health state of emergency,” Sanchez said. Sanchez also said councilors and volunteers considered other options before opening City Hall, but they weren’t approved, so they felt this was the best option for now. “We want to be clear that none of these solutions are perfect,” Sanchez said. “But we’re trying out best as city representatives to offer some type of space where folks can be somewhat warm.” ABC6 News spoke to Durell Parker, who has been homeless for almost six years. Parker said he was brought to City Hall by his case manager at Better Lives. “It’s a reprieve, but tomorrow is what I’m worried about, but today is hopefully getting the public to understand that the homeless crisis is something you should pay attention to but tomorrow it will be back to the same thing,” Parker said. Parker said he spends most nights in his tent off Branch Avenue, and that Monday night was difficult. “Very cold, I had to put blanket on top of blanket on top of blanket,” Parker said. Parker said that usually, it’s easier said than done to find a warm place to stay. “You can show up, but 100 people before you already showed up, so by the time you get there, there’s no beds and if you call CES and you ask them what locations actually do have beds, they’ll tell you ‘oh there’s no beds at this location or that location’ and the ones that do have beds are far and out of the way,” Parker said. In a statement to ABC6 News, Mayor Brett Smiley said: “I oppose tonight’s action by the City Council. City Hall does not have the resources, expertise or proper facilities to serve as an emergency shelter. The City is supporting multiple emergency warming shelters across Providence with available beds that are professionally staffed with the resources and tools our unhoused vulnerable population needs. Opening City Hall as a shelter disrespects the hard work of our community partners who have the expertise to adequately provide support for our community and this action distracts from the serious solutions the City and our qualified partners have been leading to support our unhoused populations.” Categories: News, Providence, Rhode Island