Open Doors

What Open Doors does

OpenDoors is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, founded in 2003 as the state's first and largest organization dedicated to serving people with criminal records. It delivers wrap-around reentry and homelessness services to formerly incarcerated individuals, justice-involved women and their children, and people experiencing homelessness, operating more than 300 beds of congregate shelter, transitional, and permanent supportive housing across Providence, Pawtucket, and Woonsocket. Core service lines include a walk-in Resource Center for vital records and benefits access, Employment Services with an annual Fair Chance Job Fair, the She Thrives women's reentry program (which incorporates an innovative GLP-1 addiction treatment pilot in partnership with Caron Treatment Centers and Brown University), Men's Transitional Housing, Foundations Women's House, Women & Children's House, Permanent Supportive Housing in a renovated ice cream factory, and a Master Leasing program, alongside active policy advocacy on voting rights, sentencing reform, and expungement.

The organization is not a technology business; its core delivery model is human-centered case management, peer recovery coaching, and direct housing operations, with no proprietary software platform, API, or app. Its "technology" is its evidence-based program model, including a three-year randomized controlled trial of the She Thrives program conducted with Brown University researchers, which has raised over $4 million for evaluation. Revenue is generated through four streams: individual donations (including a Giving Circle), government grants and contracts (Rhode Island Executive Office of Housing, Department of Housing, DOJ Second Chance Act $715,000 grant), foundation grants (Rhode Island Foundation, United Way of Rhode Island, Papitto Opportunity Connection, Champlin Foundation, Norman & Rosalie Fain Family Foundation), and a small self-pay housing stream ($450-$600/month for Phase II men's transitional housing). Most services are delivered free to clients.

Operationally, the organization has scaled roughly four-fold in recent years to approximately 100 staff, over three-quarters of whom — including the management team — have personal experience with incarceration, addiction, or homelessness, which functions as both a staffing model and a credibility asset with clients. Its go-to-market is hybrid: direct intake via phone, walk-in Resource Center, and referrals from the criminal justice system (probation, judges, public defenders); a statewide coordinated entry system through seven Regional Access Points for shelter beds; the 942-STOP system for recovery housing placement; and event-driven outreach through annual Fair Chance Job Fairs co-hosted with Roger Williams University since 2023.

Name

Open Doors

Legal name

OpenDoors

Website

https://opendoorsri.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

OpenDoors is a Rhode Island 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing wrap-around reentry, housing, employment, and addiction recovery services to formerly incarcerated individuals, justice-involved women and children, and people experiencing homelessness, operating 300+ beds across multiple shelter and housing programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Providence

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: OpenDoors accepts donations from individuals through PayPal and checks. Donations support necessities like winter supplies, tents, sleeping bags, food, and emergency rental assistance. The organization also has a Giving Circle program where donors receive email updates about specific items needed by residents.
2. Government Grants and Contracts: Operational funding from Rhode Island Executive Office of Housing, Rhode Island Department of Housing, federal grants including DOJ Second Chance Act ($715,000 over three years). The organization receives funding from housing authorities for shelter operations.
3. Foundation Grants: Funding from foundations including Rhode Island Foundation, United Way of Rhode Island, Papitto Opportunity Connection, Norman & Rosalie Fain Family Foundation, and others for capital campaigns and programmatic support.
4. Self-Pay Housing: Phase II transitional housing for men requires self-pay rent of $450-$600 per month. This creates a revenue stream from clients who can afford to pay for longer-term transitional housing.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

OpenDoors is a Rhode Island-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides wrap-around reentry, housing, and recovery services to formerly incarcerated and homeless individuals. The organization operates emergency shelters, transitional housing, and permanent supportive housing, alongside employment services, addiction recovery support, and policy advocacy. Over three-quarters of staff have personal experience with incarceration or addiction, making service delivery peer-led and lived-experience-driven.

Product overview

Open Doors is a nonprofit social services organization providing wrap-around support and advocacy for justice-involved and homeless individuals in Rhode Island. The organization operates as a multi-service platform offering: Resource Center (reentry support services), Employment Services (job readiness training), She Thrives Program (women's reentry with GLP-1 addiction treatment), Homeless Shelters (Providence, Pawtucket, Woonsocket), Transitional Housing (men's and women's houses including Foundations, Women & Children's House, 9 Yards), Permanent Supportive Housing, Fair Chance Job Fair, Policy and Advocacy campaigns, and Voter Registration assistance. The organization is led by staff with lived experience of incarceration and addiction, and serves over 300 individuals through its housing programs alone.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 36% decrease in reincarceration compared to control group (9 Yards program 2013-2018)
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Brown UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Brown University researchers are partnering with OpenDoors for the randomized controlled trial testing She Thrives program effectiveness. The evaluation will track outcomes for 300 women over three years and measure impacts on recidivism and family reunification.
• City of WoonsocketcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2025City of Woonsocket owns the shelter facility at 181 Cumberland Street and partnered with OpenDoors to operate the 50-bed facility. City provided property and collaborates on operational needs.
• Community Care AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2025Operates Woonsocket Regional Access Point at 401-445-4237, referring individuals to OpenDoors shelter beds.
• Dr. Steven Klein / Caron Treatment CenterscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2025Dr. Steven Klein, addiction physician at Caron Treatment Centers, prescribes GLP-1 medications for OpenDoors' pilot addiction treatment program. The partnership provides medical oversight and telehealth consultations for participants in the GLP-1 program testing whether these medications can help combat addiction.
• Center for Addiction Science, Policy and Research (CASPR)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025CASPR provides funding for OpenDoors' GLP-1 pilot program. The nonprofit organization studies GLP-1 drugs for addiction and wants to spur FDA approval for such use. OpenDoors receives medications and programmatic support through this partnership.
• Compounding PharmaciessupportingOthers · 1 January 2025Provide GLP-1 medications at reduced cost through compounding, enabling the pilot program to operate within grant funding constraints.
• Pawtucket Housing AuthoritycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2023Pawtucket Housing Authority owns the shelter facility at 1139 Main Street and partnered with OpenDoors to provide 100 beds of shelter. OpenDoors operates the facility while the Housing Authority maintains ownership.
• Roger Williams University Extension SchoolcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2023Co-host annual Fair Chance Job Fairs in downtown Providence since 2023. Partnership connects justice-impacted job seekers with employers willing to practice fair chance hiring. Roger Williams University provides venue and organizational support for these events.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• The Fortune Society: New York-based nonprofit providing comprehensive reentry, housing, employment, and advocacy services to formerly incarcerated individuals. Highly comparable to OpenDoors in mission, lived-experience staffing model, and wraparound service approach, though operating at larger scale and in a different state.
• Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO): National nonprofit focused on employment services for people returning from incarceration, with a strong evidence base from randomized evaluations. Directly comparable to OpenDoors' employment services and fair-chance hiring work, particularly the 9 Yards program's measured recidivism outcomes.
• Osborne Association: New York-based nonprofit providing reentry services, housing, family programming, and policy advocacy for justice-involved individuals. Directly comparable to OpenDoors across housing, advocacy, and family reunification (e.g., She Thrives).
• Roca, Inc. Massachusetts-based nonprofit providing reentry, violence-intervention, and employment services for high-risk young adults and formerly incarcerated individuals. Closest geographic peer to OpenDoors; shares the intensive, long-term, lived-experience-staff engagement model.
• Father Joe's Villages: San Diego-based nonprofit operating one of the largest housing and shelter continuums for homeless individuals in California. Comparable to OpenDoors in operating emergency shelter, transitional housing, and permanent supportive housing at significant scale.
• Coalition for the Homeless: National advocacy and direct-service nonprofit focused on homelessness policy and shelter/housing programs. Comparable to OpenDoors' advocacy-shelter hybrid model, particularly the policy-and-direct-service integration.
• Housing Works: New York-based nonprofit providing housing, healthcare, and advocacy for people experiencing homelessness and living with HIV/AIDS. Comparable housing-plus-services model and similar mix of shelter operations and policy advocacy.
• Community Solutions: Nonprofit running Built for Zero, a coordinated community initiative to end homelessness through data-driven case conferencing. Comparable to OpenDoors' use of HMIS coordinated entry and data-driven housing placement.

Broad incumbents

• Volunteers of America: Large national nonprofit providing housing, reentry, behavioral health, and veteran services across all 50 states. Broader incumbent that overlaps with OpenDoors on shelter operations, reentry, and supportive housing, but at far greater scale and scope.

Regional players

• Rhode Island Coalition to End Homelessness: Statewide advocacy and capacity-building coalition in Rhode Island that convenes the providers OpenDoors works alongside and that awarded OpenDoors' Deputy Director in 2023. Direct regional peer in the same service geography.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/opendoorsri
• Facebookfacebook.com/opendoorsri
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/opendoors-of-rhode-island

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Open Doors