Open Doors RI

About Open Doors RI

Open Doors RI is a recovery housing provider in Providence, Rhode Island, running sober living homes in Providence County and in Pawtucket. Open Doors RI was founded in 2003 and works with people leaving incarceration, addiction and homelessness.

Reentry as the Organizing Idea

Open Doors RI describes itself as the first and the largest organization in Rhode Island dedicated to helping people who have been in prison. That focus shapes the housing: recovery residences run by Open Doors RI are aimed at people coming out of the correctional system, and admission priorities are written around parole, probation and recent release. More than three-quarters of Open Doors RI staff, including the management team, have themselves come through incarceration or addiction.

The Open Doors RI Houses

Open Doors RI runs two transitional houses for men, the 9 Yards House and the Phase II House, and describes both as certified through the National Association of Recovery Residences. On the women's side, Open Doors RI opened Foundations in 2022 as its first house dedicated to women coming out of prison, and opened a women and children's transitional recovery house in December 2023. The organization's offices on Plainfield Street in Providence opened alongside housing on the same site in 2010.

Certification and Recovery Housing Standards

RICARES, Rhode Island's NARR affiliate and its state-designated certifier, certifies four Open Doors RI residences across Providence and Pawtucket. That is the largest certified footprint of any reentry-focused provider in the state.

How People Reach Open Doors RI Housing

Grant-funded places in Open Doors RI recovery housing are assigned through Rhode Island's statewide 942-STOP system, and the houses form part of the state recovery housing network. Open Doors RI also runs self-pay places, which are more often available than the grant-funded ones. The organization's housing runs from group shelters through transitional recovery houses to permanent supportive housing, so a resident can move along that ladder inside a single provider.

Services Alongside the Housing

Every Open Doors RI transitional house provides case management, peer recovery coaching and employment assistance in a structured, supportive and sober setting. The She Thrives program supports women leaving prison as they work toward family reunification, and the Resource Center at the Providence offices is open to walk-in help on weekdays.