Homeless in RI: Updated, Frozen to Death – Nancy Krahe, Peter Nightingale. Emergency Shelters

by Nancy Krahe, LICSW & Peter Nightingale, Emeritus Professor of Physics, University of Rhode Island

An Open Letter to Governor McKee and Rhode Island General Assembly

Dear Governor McKee and members of the Rhode Island General Assembly:

In the early morning hours of Wednesday, January 28, 2026, a man was found frozen to death on a sidewalk in downtown Providence. Year in, year out, the State of Rhode Island fails to put in place a system capable of preventing such entirely foreseeable and preventable deaths. As Sarah Bates of Rumford, Rhode Island put it:

“Frozen to death — a reality that is both disturbing and preventable. It is disheartening that our elected officials at the State House continue to do so little to address this crisis, despite having both the resources and the money.â€

Bates is the director of Anchored in PVD, a nonprofit that directly distributes all its donations to the unhoused and working poor in Providence.

Year after year, the state acts too little and too late — and people pay with their lives. Of immediate importance is the fact that the current shelter system is demonstrably inadequate:

• The most recent Point-in-Time Count showed that 2,373 people were experiencing homelessness in Rhode Island. This year’s count is expected to be higher. At the same time, the state’s Emergency Shelter Data Dashboard shows only 1,514 state-funded shelter beds;
• That same dashboard shows that on January 30, 2026, 76 individual shelter beds and four family shelter units went unused; and
• That shelter beds and units remain unused while people sleep outside strongly suggests a systemic communication failure. As people working in the field — and people living on the street — have repeatedly reported, the recently deployed Regional Access Point system is not functioning as intended.

Under the state’s Housing 2030 Plan, Rhode Island aims to build approximately 100 housing units per year for extremely low-income residents. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, Rhode Island has roughly 50,000 extremely low-income households, but fewer than 25,000 affordable and available rental homes for them. At the state’s current pace, this amounts to a 250-year plan to address a crisis that is killing people now.

In The 2024 Annual Homelessness Report(AHAR), Rhode Island ranked 2nd highest with 48% of all individuals experiencing homelessness having chronic patterns of homelessness.  This is another powerful indicator that Rhode Island is not seriously addressing the homelessness crisis.

Each winter, public attention briefly focuses on people who freeze to death on Rhode Island’s streets.

Far less attention is paid to those who die from heat exhaustion in the summer.  

Indeed, recent peer-reviewed studies published in The Journal of the American Medical Associationshow that mortality in the United States has increased due to both heat- and cold-related events. Frozen bodies receive more attention because they fit the way news coverage caters to people’s immediate interests, while deaths from heat exhaustion are routinely overlooked. The same applies to any extreme weather, any season.

The RI Housing First Coalition takes its name from the Housing First strategy that successfully reduces veteran homelessness nationwide. Housing First has been the cornerstone of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs strategy to address veteran homelessness and has been an official VA policy since 2012. Rhode Island’s approach stands in stark contrast to that proven model.

The Rhode Island Housing First Coalition demands that the Governor and the Legislature for the State of Rhode Island declare homelessness a public health emergency and immediately plan accordingly as they were forced to do during the COVID epidemic. This State of Emergency should be maintained for as long as it takes to develop a viable Emergency Shelter System for all our homeless citizens in Rhode Island.

Yours sincerely,

Nancy Krahe, LICSW & Peter Nightingale, Emeritus Professor of Physics, University of Rhode Island

The Rhode Island Housing First Coalition

P.O.Box 27034, Providence RI 02907 - [email protected]

Peter Nightingale writes frequently on homelessness. Follow his blog on SubStack, here: Peter’s Unquiet Thoughts

 

 

UPDATE: We knew the name when we published – here is Ryan’s obituary at Avery-Storti Funeral Home:

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Note:  This man has been tentatively identified by those in the homeless community as Ryan – and he was reported missing from Narragansett.  Ryan died on Westminster Street, yards away from a downtown homeless shelter.

Another death – in Boston outside of South Station

Publisher’s Note:  As we prepared this article, we received word that a man froze to death at South Station in Boston.

The article came from the Boston Globe: “A homeless man died in the cold outside South Station. That should never happen again. The state has changed an unwritten policy, even forcing people to leave the station during the Jan. 25 snowstorm”

His name was Carvell Curry. Curry’s body was found on Dec. 5 on a sidewalk outside the station at 7:30 a.m.  At midnight, security guards remove homeless from the station – when temps fall as low as it has been, that action violates a 2015 agreement between the city and state to allow homeless people to stay there overnight.

Almost exactly a year ago, Rico froze to death during a Point in Time count, when he was counted as he “slept” on a park bench in Providence. But – he wasn’t sleeping – he was dead.  In all of 2025, Rico’s story was our most read.

Rico’s story:

https://2×8.ea2.myftpupload.com/homeless-in-ri-rico-froze-to-death-on-north-main-st-in-providence-janice-luongo-street-sights/

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Shelters in the bitter cold:

With low temperatures expected this weekend, the Executive Office of Housing is urging Rhode Islanders in need to access available resources and is announcing the activation of four emergency pop-up sites to provide additional safe, warm places to stay.

Below, please find a list of emergency pop-up sites, overnight warming centers, seasonal emergency shelters, and daytime resource and warming centers that are operating and ready to provide support this weekend. A comprehensive list, inclusive of state funded year-round shelters, can be found here: https://housing.ri.gov/resources/individuals-experiencing-homelessness

EMERGENCY WINTER POP-UP SITES

Emergency pop-up sites are temporary locations that open as needed during periods of severe or inclement weather. These sites open at the discretion of their operators, do not follow a fixed schedule, and may have varying accommodations.

Council of Churches Emergency Pop-up Sites

Note: To access, individuals should first go to Matthewson Street Church.

• Addresses:
• Matthewson Street Church, 134 Matthewson Street, Providence, RI
• Community Church of Providence, 372 Wayland Avenue, Providence, RI
• Open Table of Christ, 1520 Broad Street, Providence, RI
• Hours of operation: Open nightly 2/6, 2/7, and 2/8 7:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m.
• Population served: All

Town of West Warwick Emergency Pop-up Site

Note: To access, individuals should go directly to the address listed.

• Address: West Warwick Civic Center, 100 Factory Street, West Warwick, RI
• Hours of operation: Open nightly 2/6, 2/7, and 2/8 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 a.m.
• Population served: All

OVERNIGHT WARMING CENTERS:

Overnight warming centers provide safe, temporary indoor spaces for individuals seeking relief from cold weather and access to services. Hours of operation vary by location, and projects may offer various accommodations to help people stay warm overnight. To access an overnight warming center, individuals should go directly to the address listed.

Crossroads Overnight Warming Center

• Address: 160 Broad Street Providence, RI
• Hours of operation: 24 hours
• Population served: All

Newport Mental Health Overnight Warming Center

• Address: 1 Eisenhower Street, Newport, RI
• Hours of operation: 7:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m.
• Population served: All

SEASONAL EMERGENCY SHELTERS:

Seasonal emergency shelters provide safe overnight accommodations for individuals experiencing homelessness during the coldest months. These shelters offer protection from inclement weather and may also provide additional services, including case management, behavioral health support, substance use disorder treatment, meals, and housing navigation. To access a seasonal emergency shelter, individuals should go directly to the address listed or to a regional access point.

Community Care Alliance Seasonal Shelter

• Address: 356 Clinton Street, Woonsocket, RI
• Hours of operation: 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m.
• Population served: All

Harvest Sanctuary Men’s Seasonal Shelter

• Address: 60 North Main Street, Woonsocket, RI
• Hours of operation: 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m.
• Population served: Men

OpenDoors Family Seasonal Shelter

• Address: 572 Elmwood Avenue, Providence, RI
• Hours of operation: 24 hours
• Population served: Women & children

WARM Center Seasonal Shelter

•  Address: 56 Spruce Street, Westerly, RI & 8 North Road, Peace Dale, RI
•  Hours of operation: 24 hours
• Population served: All

DAYTIME RESOURCE & WARMING CENTERS:

Daytime resource and warming centers are sites that open daily to provide individuals with safe, staffed areas where they can stay warm, access basic needs, and connect with essential supports and services. To access a daytime resource & warming center, individuals should go directly to the address listed.

Community Care Alliance Warming Center

• Address: 245 Main Street, Woonsocket, RI
• Hours of operation: M-F 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Weekends & Holidays 7:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
• Population served: All

Youth Pride, Inc. Warming Center

• Address: 743 Westminster Street, Providence, RI
• Hours of operation: M-F 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
• Population served: Young adults ages 18-24

Municipalities may also open community based warming centers for those in need. For details on the resources available in your municipality, please contact your city or town directly.

Homeless in RI is a continuing series of RINewsToday to bring light to the issue of homelessness in the state of Rhode Island