ADRIENNE MARCHETTI was named 2017 Person of the Year by the Pawtucket Hall of Fame for her contributions to the Pawtucket community. Marchetti serves as director of the Pawtucket Soup Kitchen.
What are your thoughts on being named Person of the Year by the Pawtucket Hall of Fame? Being named as person of the year was a totally unexpected surprise. I am still processing this. I am so humbled by this honor and appreciate the opportunity that I have in serving the folks of Pawtucket and Blackstone Valley through the soup kitchen.
What more can the state do to help the homeless and those living below the poverty line? The issues facing the homeless and those living below the poverty line are many and complex. The solution is not as simple as “finding a job” or “finding an apartment.” We are in desperate need of affordable housing and supportive housing, which would benefit many of the folks we serve. For the long-term homeless, it is important that they have extensive case management while making the transition into housing, as they need to relearn the disciplines needed to live in housing.
To raise someone out of poverty, we need to have more job-training programs available that will provide folks with skills that will help them to compete in today’s job market. These folks need to be able to earn enough money to support their families, so they can break the cycle of poverty and homelessness. We need to work harder to ensure an individual’s success. I am hopeful that we will see an end to homelessness in my lifetime.
How can an individual best support the Pawtucket Soup Kitchen? The soup kitchen relies heavily on volunteers to carry out its mission of feeding the hungry. We are always looking for volunteers, especially during the summer months, when we have the greatest need and we are at our busiest. Cash donations are always welcome and, because we are a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, all donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by the law. All donors are provided with a receipt of their donation for tax purposes. Folks can also check our website to see if we are looking for specific items at different times of the year. For example, during the cold winter months, we are always looking for gently used blankets, warm coats, hats, gloves and backpacks. Our website is PawtucketSoupKitchen.org, or they can call us at (401) 258-4616.
What does a typical day look like as executive director at PSK? I learned early on that there are no typical days. Every day is an adventure. I generally arrive at the soup kitchen at 5 a.m. to cook breakfast. Our guests start arriving at 7 a.m., and we serve breakfast from 7:30-8 a.m. After the breakfast cleanup is done, I then go out to pick up donations and deliver lunch. Then, it’s back to the soup kitchen to do some paperwork and begin dinner. I generally get done by 6:45 p.m., except during the winter months (November through the end of May) when we deliver dinner to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Homeless Shelter.
PSK’s website reports some scary figures: 17.7 percent of Pawtucket, 27 percent of Central Falls and 22.4 percent of Providence residents live below the poverty line. Are these numbers improving? The soup kitchen served more than 40,000 unduplicated meals in 2016 and is on track to do at least the same, if not more, in 2017. Things are not improving for the population we serve, as housing and utility costs are unaffordable for those living in poverty. ... So, as a result, they rely on us for food, so they can try to take care of the other expenses they have in their lives. Life is fragile for many of the folks we serve, and the littlest setback is catastrophic to their well-being. We can only hope that 2018 will be a better year for our guests and that the need for places like the soup kitchen will wane.