CITY LIFE

Moms Helping Moms

The city’s domestic violence resource helps new moms by pairing them with experienced mentors

What began in 1976 as a tiny volunteer agency with one hotline has grown into a multi-faceted organization that serves thousands of individuals. Sojourner House is a nonprofit based in Providence that helps victims and survivors of domestic abuse, sexual violence, and human tra cking with an expansive list of vital services. Adding to that list, in 2022, they launched the MOSAIC Project, a unique peer mentoring program. Serving as a community advocacy group, the MOSAIC Project aids new and soon-to-be mothers who have experienced intimate partner violence by pairing clients with local moms who have completed a 10-week training program. Mentors and mentees then meet each week over phone or at mutually comfortable locations for up to 12 weeks. According to Vanessa Volz, executive director of Sojourner House, “The overarching goal of this project is to reduce rates of violence among new parents.”

Born out of a five-year federal grant, the initiative was developed in collaboration with the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH). “Prior to working on this project, we had been collaborating with the Department of Health on other projects, so we were known entities to each other,” Volz says.

With RIDOH’s focus on data and research and the on-the-ground experience Sojourner House brings, partnering on the MOSAIC Project came naturally. “It was nice to be able to have an opportunity to blend our individual expertise together,” Volz reflects. “We want to respond to the needs of our community, and this seemed like a good way to do that.”

While a majority of Sojourner House’s funding comes from federal grants, they rely on other sources too, including donations and fundraisers. Their largest fundraising event is the annual Masquerade Ball, which will take place November 17 at the Graduate Providence, with tickets typically going on sale in early September. Sojourner House is also currently running their Capital Campaign to pay for a new property to accommodate their growth. Until the end of October, donation dollars will be matched up to $250,000 by the Champlin Foundation, one of the oldest philanthropic organizations in the state known for awarding capital needs grants to nonprofits.

Still in its early stages, the MOSAIC Project is constantly evolving. Mother mentors are usually known to the agency, but Volz welcomes any mother who has had some experience with intimate partner violence to contact Sojourner House about becoming a mentor. Longterm goals include training hospital and clinic sta to identify potential victims and send referrals, giving Sojourner House access to clients who may not know about services or are unable to reach out for help. “This is a five-year grant, and our hope is that we’ll be able to continue it,” Volz says. To donate to Sojourner House or learn more about their programming, visit SojournerRI.org.

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Mystery Solved

Why leftover RI Statehouse marble was buried on the West Side

Farm Fresh Rhode Island, a nonprofit that promotes sustainable agriculture, was testing the soil for its new home in Providence’s Valley neighborhood a few years ago when it unearthed a lot of marble.

“We went 12 feet down and this is when we discovered marble,” recalled Lucie Searle, community and real estate developer for Farm Fresh. “And we’re like, ‘where did this come from?’”

The group started delving into why marble was buried beneath the nonprofit’s future home at Kinsley and Sims avenues. It turned out that the world-renowned architects of the State House, McKim, Mead and White, selected a Worcester firm, Norcross Brothers, to construct the seat of state government more than a century ago.

“And the Norcross Brothers built in Providence, in the Valley neighborhood, on the site that Farm Fresh owns today – the exact 3.2 acre site – they built a state-of-the art cutting facility,” Searle said. “And here all of the marble that went into the State House was cut.”

An 1898 newspaper account cites how the stone-cutting plant’s size and scale enabled enough progress not just to satisfy a commission overseeing State House construction, but also “the fastidious tastes of the general public of Rhode Island as well.” It was a time when the Ocean State was prosperous and Providence was a hive of industry. So how did leftover marble wind up underground and forgotten for more than 100 years?

“As we’ve researched this, what we learned is that you have very, very big blocks coming up [by rail] from Georgia and these were cut to the architects’ specifications,” Searle said. “And there were pieces that were discarded, because they weren’t usable or maybe they made a mistake. And so it was very common to just put things in the ground, and this is what people did.”

Over time, new buildings covered the former stone-cutting yard. Then, a 2015 fire wiped out those buildings. Farm Fresh acquired the property two years later, began digging into the foundation and found the marble.

“So we decided to have our contractor save any piece of marble that was 20 inches or more in any dimension and he did,”

Searle

said, “and we have tons of marble.”

The tons of marble include pieces as long as four feet – suitable for a bench or a landscape feature – while other remnants are as small as half a pound, just right for a paperweight.

Dave Allyn is one of five artists who answered a call to embellish some of the marble pieces with a design. His Sims Avenue studio is a stone’s throw from Farm Fresh Rhode Island. Allyn used screen printing to etch images of the construction of the State House onto some of the smaller marble pieces.

As he explained, “I’ve been able to adaptively reuse these artifacts and do some historical imagery on the top of them with screen printing and then mount them onto a steel base and basically turn these into a piece of art.”

Rhode Island is known for its checkered political history, a lot of that connected with the State House.

As Lucie Searle noted, the Capitol is also a grand structure that has withstood the test of time, suggesting endurance, ambition and an ability to punch above our weight.

“It’s a building that makes a statement,” she said. “We’re the smallest state, but it’s saying, ‘look at me.’”

This article was originally posted on June 1, 2023. Ian Donnis can be reached at IDonnis@ThePubicsRadio.org

By Abigail Lebowitz

Botanical Bar Plant Store

We’re on the hunt for Rhody Gems! Every neighborhood has that secret, hidden, cool and unusual, or hole-in-the-wall spot that locals love. Email or tag us on social media using #RhodyGem to suggest yours, and we might just feature it!

What it is:

A speakeasy-style plant shop specializing in indoor greenery.

Where to find it:

Around the corner from Long Live Beerworks and upstairs from KNEAD Doughnuts’ West End location, once inside, look for the doorbell that says “Botanical Bar” to get buzzed in. Follow the leaf-wrapped handrails upstairs and take a left.

What makes it a Rhody Gem?

If you don’t know a philodendron from a fern, co-owners Samantha Fontanez and Shalika Shoulders are here to help. Cultivating a welcoming space for plant enthusiasts is at the root of Botanical Bar’s mission, and in addition to browsing house plants at the store, site visits are available. “We don’t just drop o plants at your home or o ce and send you on your way. We take the time to evaluate your space, lighting, and your unique preferences to provide personalized plant styling that perfectly fits your lifestyle,” says Fontanez. “We then provide all the necessary maintenance required, so you don’t have to lift a finger. Our goal is to create an e ortless and enjoyable plant ownership experience for all of our valued customers.” With a belief that “education is key to fostering a love for plants and sustainable living practices,” Botanical Bar also hosts workshops and classes on plant care, propagation techniques, and more.

Botanical Bar

55 Cromwell Street Instagram: @_botanicalbar

By Barry Fain and Steve Triedman