Karen Santilli has been named vice president of marketing and development at Crossroads Rhode Island. Santilli will be responsible for leading all marketing, fundraising and public relations efforts for the organization. She previously worked as team managing director for donor relations, as well as marketing director for Plan USA. Santilli has a B.A. in marketing and a M.A. in education from Rhode Island College.
PBN: What is the reach of Crossroads?
SANTILLI: Crossroads Rhode Island reaches across every town and city in Rhode Island. We are the largest provider of comprehensive services to Rhode Island’s homeless and disconnected population – and they are citizens from all over the state. Crossroads is important because after we take care of an individual or family’s most urgent, immediate needs, we work with them to identify and address the underlying issues that brought them to us and work towards a long term solution.
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PBN: What Crossroads programs help transition disconnected people into a more stable environment?
SANTILLI: Our programs fall into three core categories: crisis intervention, housing and shelter and vocational services. In moments of crisis, Crossroads is able to provide food, shelter, and respite services to individuals and families seeking protection from the elements. There are three centers that focus on housing and shelter for those in need: The Family Center provides emergency food, shelter and support for up to 15 homeless families; the Harold Lewis House provides housing to seniors aged 55 and over who were previously homeless; Crossroads in North Kingstown provides permanent housing and support for homeless families with two or more children. Crossroads is also instrumental in providing education. The Crossroads Learning Center offers high school credentialing, adult literacy and math instruction, as well as job search, placement and retention support. The Nursing Assistant Training Program helps prepare individuals to pass the state certification exam to become a Certified Nursing Assistant. As well, the Graphics Communications Training program, offered at The Copy Center at Crossroads, is a hands-on training program in a state-of-the-art print production facility.
PBN: What are you most looking forward to in your new position?
SANTILLI: It’s tough to pick one particular program – they are all so incredibly important. The newest project we’re currently supporting is the building of a service-enriched Women’s Shelter that, unfortunately, is required to meet increasing demand. The number of women seeking emergency shelter at Crossroads doubled last year, and there is a dire lack of shelter beds available for women in our state. This shelter will provide many of the critical services with a particular focus on the needs of women. •
