Homeless in RI: Spring follows winter… Armory’s last days; lack of diversity in planning “appalling”

Spring follows winter as surely as day follows night.

TODAY

House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi will host a news conference TODAY to announce his latest package of legislation to address Rhode Island’s housing crisis. The news conference will be held Thursday, March 2, at 3:00 p.m. in the House Lounge on the second floor of the State House. 

Speaker Shekarchi will be joined by Rep. June S. Speakman, chair of the Special Legislative Commission to Study the Low and Moderate Income Housing Act; Thomas E. Deller, chair of the Special Legislative Commission to Study the Entire Area of Land Use, Preservation, Development, Housing, Environment, and Regulation; members of both commissions, legislators, housing advocates and developers. 

It will be televised live on Capitol Television, which can be seen on Cox Communications, channels 15 and 61 for high definition; i3Broadband (Formerly Full Channel) on channel 15; and Verizon, on channel 34 It will also be live streamed at www.rilegislature.gov/captv, where it will be available to view on demand after the event.

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New Housing head Stefan Pryor visiting shelters/programs

Stefan Pryor has been visiting the state’s shelter programs and doing initial interviews with media outlets… as posted on his social media account.

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Pawtucket Shelter re-opened March 1st as 24/7 shelter

Open Doors Rhode Island is now running the city’s homeless shelter at 1139 Main St., and there is a goal in place to try to persuade some of the homeless residents currently living under the I-95 overpasses to start using the shelter as it opens around the clock. Officials hope to encourage the person(s) under the Pawtucket overpass to transfer to the shelter. Open Doors traditionally serves a veterans population.

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Neighbors cry foul at Cranston Street Armory

“We wanted to do our part – we didn’t know what we were being asked to do was giving up our park to the drug crisis”. Speaking for some neighbors, one father of a young child said this about what has happened to his Dexter Park/Armory neighborhood in which his family lives, as he says he can no longer take his son outside because of the drug paraphernalia, and how people can be seen passed out in the area, etc. This follows several reports of groups having to clean up the immediate Armory area as well as the park.

The West Broadway Neighborhood Association held a community meeting about the present and future of the Cranston Street Armory: “WBNA believes that now is the time for the community to advocate for next steps. We are asking neighbors to call the governor’s office directly at 401-222-2080 and ask for: 1) a humane transition plan for those at the warming center who will need somewhere to go in April, 2) a $20 million Governor’s Budget Amendment by mid-May for the revitalization project proposed by Scout, and 3) to give the Dept of Housing a public number for neighbors to call with comments and concerns that require immediate support.”

The group is set to meet again on March 16th at 7pm when Housing Secretary Stefan Pryor will have a public meeting with the community.

WBNA sent a letter to the governor which you can read here: https://drive.google.com/…/13…/view

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April is coming – use of the Cranston Street Armory – and other “temporary” shelters will come to an end, but homelessness will not

A Joint Statement from “Elected Leaders and Community Partners on the Future of the Cranston Street Armory” was released from the Providence City Council. The statement noted that City Council President Rachel Miller, Senator Sam Bell, Representative Enrique Sanchez, and Rebecca Atwood, President of the West Broadway Neighborhood Association, had met with Housing Secretary Stefan Pryor.

“On Thursday night, we had a conversation with state Housing Secretary Stefan Pryor. We were joined by Eileen Hayes from Amos House, a current resident of the warming center, leadership from the National Guard as well as a representative from the Rhode Island Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM), the state entity in charge of the Armory.

Secretary Pryor committed to joining us at a public community meeting about both the warming shelter and the future vision for the armory within three weeks. We will keep the community posted as soon as we have a date. We encourage neighborhood residents and guests at the Armory to attend to share their views.

We also agreed that all parties will be making their best efforts to fully phase out the warming shelter at the Armory in April.

Secretary Pryor confirmed that there would be no permanent shelter at the Armory, and he and others present reflected the state’s enthusiasm for the Scout development of the Armory, which has been in discussion with the state for several years (for more information about the Scout development plans, see the community meeting in December).

CEO of Amos House, Eileen Hayes, also shared that Amos House will not run this facility as a permanent or semi-permanent shelter, as it is not the right solution for the homelessness crisis. 

The Providence City Council is committed to working with our state partners, the Secretary of Housing and the Department of Administration to find the most humane solution to care for the guests at the Armory while the facility remains open.”

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A whole new life planned for the Cranston Street Armory – VIDEO

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The Special Commission to Study the Low and Moderate Income Housing Act

This commission met this week with the Special Legislative Commission to “study the entire area of land use, preservation, development, housing, environment, and regulation”. On the agenda was a group discussion of potential legislation, with no public comment allowed at the meeting.

Neil Steinberg, CEO of the RI Foundation, addressed the group by stating at the beginning that the lack of diversity in the room “was appalling” and that the people who are being impacted are not represented by those in the room discussing it.

The meeting was live streamed:

Led by Rep. June S. Speakman, the Special Commission is studying barriers to affordable housing creation and identify ways to help cities and towns meet their obligations under the Low and Moderate Income Housing Act to ensure that at least 10 percent of their housing stock qualifies as affordable.

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Point32Health Foundation Awards $690,000 to organizations addressing homelessness

The Point32Health Foundation announced that five New England nonprofits in Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts working to eliminate homelessness will receive grants totaling $690,000. These resources support organizations as they address the health and wellness of people experiencing homelessness, increase affordable housing options and advance advocacy initiatives.

“We have to address the root causes to end homelessness,” said Greg Shell, chair of the Point32Health Foundation and partner at Goldman Sachs. “And solutions need to be grounded in community. Communities can identify the issues and help design relevant solutions to eradicate barriers so people of color and others from under-represented communities can access resources and support.”

The New York Times reports that the number of older people experiencing homelessness in the U.S. will nearly triple in the next ten years.

Grant funds will be used to pursue system and policy changes to eliminate factors contributing to rising rates of homelessness, especially among older adults; to develop affordable housing with supportive services necessary to maintain good health; and to expand wellness programs for people experiencing homelessness. 

Rhode Island grant recipients include:

Crossroads Rhode Island, Providence, R.I. ($65,000)

• One-year grant to support and increase the capacity of its Adult and Family Services Domestic Violence, Rapid Re-Housing and Housing First programs.  

ONE Neighborhood Builders, Providence, R.I. ($250,000)

• Three-year grant to support the development of affordable housing with the supportive services needed to help older adults and historically underserved communities experiencing homelessness maintain good health.

About Point32Health Foundation
Point32Health Foundation works with communities to support, advocate and advance healthier lives for everyone. Point32Health Foundation, formed by the combination of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation and Tufts Health Plan Foundation, advances equity-focused solutions in healthy aging, access to healthy food and behavioral health in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. 

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Central Falls homeless are not on the streets

In an interview with ConvergenceRI, Central Falls Mayor Maria Rivera said that homeless are not on the streets in CF – they are doubled and tripled up in housing, with no personal space. She notes the mental health impacts for children. During COVID, this may be why CF had the most family cases as people lived in very tight housing, with people having to leave for work, and then return. CF is looking for homes to buy to accommodate those who need to move.

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Emmanuel House

This program, run by the Diocese of Providence continues its ongoing shelter program and has a census of 60, as it expanded during the current crisis. In a tour with Stefan Pryor it was noted that the population is younger, and most work, at least part time.

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No room in the inn at West Valley Inn

After many years of the land staying undeveloped, the West Valley Inn developers will be building 1500 sq. ft units of two bedroom, two bath condos – each with a single garage. There will be 33 duplexes, producing 66 condo units built over the next two years – their average selling price will be over $410,000.

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Pallet Shelters

While Pallet Shelters seemed to be off the table for the 2022-2023 winter homelessness crisis, the impending spring crisis of homeless having to leave temporary shelters – literally hundreds more out into the elements as most have not found permanent housing – the issue of pallet shelters may be revisited by the state. Time to purchase and implement “villages” would be an obstacle, as well as neighborhood opposition. Setting up at state owned property – most commonly mentioned being the Pastore campus in Cranston – is the only solution that would be doable – but community opposition in Cranston and elsewhere could prevent easy implementation,

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Homeless Group no longer asking for funds for sleeping bags and tents

In their late February fundraising solicitation the RI Coalition to End Homelessness group has removed the items “sleeping bag and tent” from a gift at the level of $125. Instead, that level of giving will now promote “Build legislative champions or fund service providers”.

In February, 2023

In December, 2023

Homeless Children – no comment from RI DCYF

RINewsToday wrote to the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families to ask about the 300+ children (under 18) who were counted by the RI Coalition to End Homelessness as leaving outdoors in conditions not suitable for human habitation. Our first request was responded to with the state policy requiring anyone knowing of dangerous situations involving children to report them. When the numbers were counted we asked what about now – would they demand the agencies disclose children in precarious situations. We have received several responses that DCYF is still considering their response and will let us know as soon as they have a statement. As of yesterday, 4 requests have gone unanswered.