PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — The DaVinci Center, a non-profit community center on Charles Street, opened its doors as a warming center Wednesday night. “It’s more comfortable, there’s more room for people to lay down if they show up, floor space, I don’t think the homeless care about sleeping on the floor, they want to be warm,” William Bailey said, who has been homeless since June. This comes after members of Providence City Council opened the City Council Chamber as a warming shelter for the homeless community Tuesday night, hoping to send a message to city and state leaders. Mayor Brett Smiley did not agree with the decision. “Ultimately it’s my building and I could have padlocked the doors, I didn’t want to do that, I don’t think anybody wanted that conflict and I didn’t want anyone to not be able to have a place to come and get warm,” Smiley said. Smiley said both City Hall and the DaVinci Center are not long-term fixes for lack of shelter space. According to Smiley, Crossroads Rhode Island, Emmanuel House, and the Providence Rescue Mission are shelters that people can go to in the city. “The right way to solve this problem is to work within the system with the existing providers that we are funding and that we have coordinated with to ensure that they are open and are not turning anyone away,” Smiley said. “They weren’t last night and they aren’t tonight.” Meanwhile, Councilman Miguel Sanchez said the DaVinci Center will be open Thursday night as well. Sanchez added the DaVinci Center is a better option than the Council Chamber. “Obviously, the most emergency is, the important thing is to have a safe space for people to sleep tonight, or have a safe space for people to stay warm but also try to get through some of these barriers and issues on why so many folks are outside,” Sanchez said. City Council is expected to vote on a resolution Thursday, calling on Governor Dan McKee to declare homelessness a public health state of emergency. “I’d like to know what the action is that’s being suggested, because that’s how we actually solve real problems is through action, and not through words,” Smiley said. The Rhode Island Coalition to End Homelessness is also calling for an emergency declaration. In response, Gov. McKee said in a statement: “All states are struggling with the problem of growing homeless populations. In Rhode Island, I am glad that we have been able to expand the number of emergency shelter beds and homeless services due to significant investments by my Administration, including over $75M in one-time federal pandemic money. This week, we have taken steps to open additional spaces to address to the current weather conditions. I understand that the Coalition to End Homelessness is advocating for an emergency declaration. Unfortunately, an emergency declaration under these circumstances does not solve this complex problem. For example, it does not unlock any new funding. Similarly, if I were to use that emergency power to waive capacity limits in shelters or ignore other safety concerns such as sprinkler systems and adequate egress, I would be solving one problem by creating a new one. I am not going to do that. In the long-term we need to address root causes so we can stop homelessness before it happens—such as helping people transition to permanent housing, growing available housing stock, providing needed job skills training, addressing substance abuse, and addressing healthcare and mental health issues. My administration remains focused on this work.” Around 30 people came to City Hall on Tuesday to keep warm. Categories: News, Rhode Island