Boys Town opening Providence location

PROVIDENCE – Boys Town New England, which is based in Portsmouth, is expanding to a second location in the capital city to accommodate increased demand from metropolitan families.
The Rhode Island nonprofit agency is one of 11 affiliates for the Omaha, Neb.-based Boys Town organization.
“This is part of our strategic plan, which calls not only for the expansion of community-based programs, but also for making more of an impact in the communities that we serve,” Executive Director William Reardon told Providence Business News.
Boys Town started leasing the new, 4,000-square-foot building at 294 West Exchange St. in September and expects it to be fully functional by late November. It is on a major bus route, accessible for pedestrians and did not need major construction work, Reardon said. A Dec. 3 open house is planned, Reardon added.
Referrals in Providence and the surrounding area have been on the rise, Reardon said, making a second location in the state’s capital city necessary, as well as more convenient for clients. In 2012, the agency served 497 youth; in 2013, the number had grown to 752, and in 2014 to date, the nonprofit has already served 808 youth, Reardon said.
“Providence is the epicenter of the state, so a lot of the clients and families and youth we serve are in Providence and the surrounding area, Pawtucket, Central Falls, Cranston,” he said.
Boys Town New England’s strategic initiative is to “increase community engagement in order to support children who have been abused and neglected and families that are facing stressors that threaten their family’s stability,” Reardon added.
Operating since 1991, the agency’s offerings today include residential services, foster care, in-home family and visitation support and “Common Sense Parenting” classes.
The Providence office will offer two family visitation rooms and a training room for the classes in which parenting skills are taught. A majority of the agency’s in-home family service consultants will be relocated to the city to be more available to the families that they serve, he said.
The Dec. 3 open house is from 4-6 p.m. at the new location.

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