By JOHN HOWELL

A family shelter that had its origins in the Norwood Baptist Church basement and later moved to the former St. Benedict Church convent in Conimicut reopened Friday under the banner of Crossroads Rhode Island. The facility can accommodate 10 families.

The Rhode Island Family Shelter, which had a long history of community service, was forced to close in early July for financial reasons. The staff of 11 was given a two-week notice, and once the seven families housed at the shelter were placed in housing, the doors closed.

But neither the shelter board nor Mayor Scott Avedisian were prepared to let such a valuable community safety net close for good. Talks were held with the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless and Crossroads, which is based in Providence and serves more than 4,000 Rhode Islanders annually. An agreement was reached whereby Crossroads assumes the mortgage and insurance costs for the building, Crossroads president Karen Santilli explained.

At a press conference Friday, Avedisian praised the Rhode Island Family Shelter board and its chair, Christina Johnk, for not losing sight of its mission.

“The name didn’t matter, they wanted to stay true to the mission,” he said.

As it did, the shelter will be open to families from across the state. It will be staffed 24-7, but unlike the Rhode Island Family Shelter, it will not rely on volunteers to operate. Crossroads will continue to work with local organizations, such as Bishop Hendricken High School, that provided service to the shelter and its tenants. Santilli also said Crossroads intends to be active with the Warwick 13, a coalition of Warwick non-profits that meets regularly and works cooperatively to address community human service issues. The shelter has the capacity to house 10 families in rooms that were initially designed as a dormitory for nuns. The facility has its own kitchen as well as common rooms for tenants.

Santilli said Crossroads hopes to find housing for its homeless families within 30 days, but in reality the average time is three months. It’s not an easy process.

“We’re seeing families from all over,” she said. By the time families have turned to Crossroads, she said, they have run out of options. Most, she said, have lost their jobs and worn out their welcome with family and friends.

“By the time they get homeless, they’re pretty much without resources,” she said.

Crossroads aims to stabilize the family, working to find permanent affordable housing and training the head of the family so they can find good-paying jobs. In 2014, Crossroads matched 1,238 homeless men, women and children with stable homes, while on an emergency basis providing shelter to 397 men, 395 women and 266 families.

Santilli said children at the Warwick shelter would continue to go to the school from the community where they had been displaced.

The Warwick location is the only shelter Crossroads is operating outside of Providence. Santilli said the agency has no plans to open more either.

“Our goal is not to open more shelters,” she said.

Under the terms of the one-year agreement, Crossroads will provide service and support to the seven families that are housed in the apartments that were added as a second floor to the former convent. Those families were not displaced with the closing of the Rhode Island Family Shelter.

In a statement, Johnk said the board is excited about the reopening of the shelter, “as our goal was always to keep with our original mission of helping families in need.”