South Side, Providence, Rhode Island

The South Side of Providence, Rhode Island, originally South Providence, is a term frequently used to describe the collective region comprising the official neighborhoods of Upper and Lower South Providence, Elmwood and the West End. The name was first used in the 1830s when the New York, Providence and Boston Railroad established its first station at a pier on the Providence River on a point of land about one half mile south of Downtown Providence. The station was named South Providence.Fact|date=November 2007

Hispanics comprise the majority of the population, with over half its residents claiming hispanic ancestry, as compared to thirty percent of Providence residents as a whole.cite web|url=http://204.17.79.244/profiles/ssd_main.html|title=Providence Neighborhood Profiles: Southside|publisher=Provplan|accessdate=08-04-07.] Consequently, it has a high percentage (64%) of children enrolled in public school whose first language is not English, with the most commonly spoken language being Spanish.

The area continues to struggle with poverty issues; the South Side's median family income is $23,379 as compared with $32,058 for the city as a whole, and more than one out of three families lives in poverty.

Demographics

52.3% of South Side residents are Hispanic, 24.4% are African-American, 12.2% are white, 9.1% are Asian, and 2% are Native-American. 64% of public school children under the age of six speak a language other than English as their primary language. [ [http://204.17.79.244/profiles/ssd_main.html Southside ] ]

The median family income is $23,379, which 75% of the city-wide average. 35.5% of families live below the poverty-line. 30.3% of families receive some form of public assistance. [ [http://204.17.79.244/profiles/ssd_main.html Southside ] ]

Nearly one in four children has been exposed to unsafe quantities of lead. [ [http://204.17.79.244/profiles/ssd_main.html Southside ] ] This is due to the prevalences of lead paint in older homes.

Hospitals

South Side includes a line of four hospitals that from west to east to east includes St Joseph's Hospital for Specialty Care, Rhode Island Hospital, Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, and Hasbro Children's Hospital.

St Joseph's Hospital for Specialty Care is a Catholic hospital located at 21 Peace Street in the northern portion of Elmwood. [ [http://www.specialtycareri.com/ Welcome To Saint Joseph Hospital for Specialty Care Homepage ] ]

Rhode Island Hospital, Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, and Hasbro Children's Hospital are located in close proximity to one another in Upper South Providence. [ [http://www.lifespan.org/rih/ Rhode Island Hospital ] ] [ [http://www.womenandinfants.org/ Women & Infants Hospital : Providence, Rhode Island ] ] Rhode Island Hospital has 719 beds and an acute care hospital and an academic center affiliated with Alpert Medical School.

References

[http://204.17.79.244/profiles/ssd_main.html Providence Neighborhood Profiles: Southside at a Glance]