An October 9 fire at the two-story Riverside Mills Office Building on Aleppo Street in Olneyville singed the last surviving structure in the mill complex and posed minor setbacks toward the creation of English for Action's future home in the Riverside House Project.

During the past few months, English for Action, a nonprofit group composed of Brown and RISD students, as well as local community activists and environmentalists, have been working with the city to restore the Riverside Mills Office Building. Once renovated, the building would serve as the Riverside House Project -- a center for arts, education, and activism for the Olneyville community.

Still, English for Actions coordinators are optimistic that they'll receive a lot of support from the city, as will as from community donations. In fact, "the fire has been an impetus to move forward on renovations to the building," says executive director Adriana Young. To make donations, call Young at 743-8919, or write to englishforaction@hotmail.com.

"The reclaiming of industrial space is an important process of community revitalization," she adds. The mills "stand as a test for the neglect of communities. There is such a lack of space in Olneyville and it is important that space be created for community members."

Since being established in 1999, English for Action, a program designed to teach English to immigrants, has been confined to a small space in the Nickerson House. The goal is to "identify and work to combat inequalities that are set up by language barriers, by engaging people who are vulnerable to those inequalities and give people the tool of language and knowledge of rights in this country," says Mackay Miller, a facilitator in the program.

With the active classroom environment facilitated by the English for Action, interested community members can learn "ways of becoming more involved in community decisions so that they can have more of a say," Young says. By working with the City of Providence to create more space for learning in the program and for the community, the English for Action hopes to further their goal of "better meeting the needs of Olneyville community members."

Issue Date: October 19 - 25, 2001