Serving the Poorest of the Poor
Tides Family Services serves the poorest of Rhode Island’s poor. Since our founding in 1983, we have chosen to locate in the places where our impact is greatest. These are the neighborhoods of Central Falls, Pawtucket, Providence, West Warwick and Woonsocket… the places where our clients and their families live.
Our Providence address is 790 Broad Street on the city’s South Side, the site of the former Donnelly’s clothing store. It is an old building which bears witness to the ravages of time and past neglect. At the best of times, the structure needs continuous repair and maintenance, but after a series of winter storms in 2010 and 2011, melting ice and rain flooded large sections of the building causing major damage. We had no choice but to shutter the building.
From humble beginnings in the mid-1980s when we served 30 families in West Warwick, Tides serves, on average, 500 youth and families each day. Over 130 of them rely on our Providence-based services. With our building closed, we were desperate to initiate repairs. At a minimum, we knew we needed a new roof, but the architect told us we also needed to make major structural upgrades. Having no funds in reserve, we asked the Champlin Foundation for help. The Foundation’s funds not only allowed us to replace the roof and the heating/cooling system, but enabled us to repair flood damage throughout the building. As a result, we were “off line” and in temporary quarters for less than 18 months.
Since then, our Providence-based comprehensive services for troubled young people and their families have continued to grow. The state’s Juvenile Probation Service is co-located with us at 790 Broad Street. We offer programs through our fully COA-accredited Youth Transition Center, Preserving Families Network, Multi-systemic and Functional Family Therapy Programs, and our Youth Outreach Program. Thanks to Champlin, we now have a safe, secure and welcoming environment that directly benefits the most at-risk children, youth and families of our state’s capital city.