When foster kids in RI age out, they often have nowhere to go. Enter, Foster Forward.
Residences at Riverside Square, designed by Union, provides affordable homes for Rhode Islanders who age out of foster care.
A recent Providence Journal piece captured a moving story from Sylvia Parrott, one of the first residents at the Residences at Riverside Square. Designed by Union Studio Architecture & Community Design, this missing-middle infill development opened its doors this past spring, bringing 16 affordable homes to East Providence.
Sylvia occupies one of the three apartment units specifically reserved for young adults aging out of foster care. “The power of housing is incredible,” she says. “I’m starting to enjoy my time now.”
The article also sheds a light on the transformative work of local non-profit, Foster Forward, whose entire mission is focused on empowering lives impacted by the foster care system.
“Residences at Riverside Square is an incredibly meaningful project to have been a part of,” says Joel VanderWeele, Associate at UNION and lead architect of the project. “One of the most gratifying moments in the life of an architect is getting to see people move in to projects that for years have only lived on trace paper, in modeling programs, spreadsheets, and in construction tracking software.”