Suppression and massacres of the Armenian population in the Ottoman Empire were always in the thoughts of the American Armenian community since families of many of them were left in the homeland. Armenians, who were in Rhod Island were not an exception. One of the early reactions of the local Armenian community to the atrocities committed by the Ottoman government was a mass meeting in Providence held in the Music Hall on December 8. 1894. Both Armenian and American representative spoke out on the suppressed Armenian victims of the Sassoun massacre. Armenians and Americans addressed the meeting. These included the Reverend Thomas D. Anderson; Mr. and Mrs. John Dionian. who had brought with them a Miss Boese, who sand Armenian an American songs; the Reverend F. H. Tompkins, Rector of Grace Church; the Reverends F. A. Horton and James L. Baron a missionary well-known to the Armenians, and the Governor of Rhode Island, Russell Brown. The governor gave a speech, after which the meeting adopted a resolution which was sent to the President of the United States, Grover Cleveland.

After the Hamidian massacres of 1894-96, Armenian orphan boys Avedis and Kreko Aloojian were housed in the Children' Friends Society Orphanage on Tobey Street in Providence

The Genocide of 1915 and the subsequent Armenian refugee crisis became the major challenge for the community. Members were actively involved in fundraising and relief work in humanitarian missions of the Armenian Relief Society through the Providence branch and the American Near East Relief. Many Armenian refugees arrived in Rhode Island from Europe and the Middle East and settled in different cities of the state. Most refugees lost family members and arrived alone. New kinships were formed and the community continued to evolve and strengthen its roots to both its heritage and to its new home