Debra Duquette

Debra first moved into an emergency shelter about three years ago, after a disagreement with roommates cost her her housing. She has a physical disability, and in the early days of the OpenDoors shelter at 1139 Main Street in Pawtucket, everyone shared a single-stall bathroom that was hard for her to use.

A renovation turned the sixteen-bed warming center into a permanent shelter with one hundred beds, separate restrooms for men and women, and accessible stalls and showers. For Debra, it made a world of difference. “The bathrooms are amazing compared to what they used to be,” she says. “Now they have, luckily, handicapped facilities, so I’m able to use the bathroom without too much trouble.”

“When you have nothing, having a roof over your head, a bed to sleep on, and three meals a day is the world.”