Bringing the issue of poverty to the State House: The 16th Annual Fighting Poverty with Faith Vigil

“The issues you care about are the issues we care about in the General Assembly: housing insecurity, food insecurity, economic stability, healthcare, equity, and justice,” said Speaker Shekarchi.

“I want to take a moment and marvel at everyone here today in these very troubled times that we're in,” said Rhode Island Speaker of the House Joseph Shekarchi to the one hundred or so faith leaders and advocates from across faith traditions gathered around the State House Rotunda. “That people, from a lot of different faiths and a lot of different backgrounds and nationalities, can all come together for a good cause - to advocate and pray and celebrate - that's a remarkable thing about all of us in our great state, and I wish we had more of this, not only here in Rhode Island, but throughout the country and the world. So I want to thank you.”

The event was the 16th Annual Fighting Poverty with Faith Vigil, organized by the Rhode Island Interfaith Coalition to Reduce Poverty. Held each year near the beginning of the legislative session, the vigil seeks to express common priorities and values across a diverse array of religious beliefs. I’m opening this report with the full text, lightly edited, of the Speaker’s words.

“The issues you care about are the issues we care about in the General Assembly: housing insecurity, food insecurity, economic stability, healthcare, equity, and justice,” continued Speaker Shekarchi. “All of us want to improve the lives of Rhode Islanders and reduce poverty, and I thank all of you for your advocacy on all of these goals.

“As many of you know, one of my top priorities as Speaker has been housing. All positive outcomes start with a good, safe home. Children do better in school. Adults are better prepared for their jobs. Families' physical, mental, and emotional health is better when they have a stable place to live. It's not my opinion, it's a fact. Everyone deserves a safe, stable place to live that they can afford. It's a matter of equity.

“For the past three years, the House has been working on this issue. We passed a 13-bill package of housing legislation in 2023 - in addition to the 17 bills introduced during the previous two sessions that will help start, hopefully, the end of poverty and increase affordable housing in Rhode Island.

“Last year [we passed legislation] banning rental applications. That was brought to us by Representative Cherie Cruz. We heard from many of you that this was a huge barrier to housing, and we heard from families who spent hundreds or even thousands of dollars on rental applications, but still couldn't find an apartment.

“We passed four bills to reduce childhood lead poisoning. Rhode Island has some of the oldest housing stock in the nation, and too many of our children are still suffering from lead poisoning.

“We also passed legislation to seal eviction court records that in most circumstances prevent people from getting housing.

“We had some of the very best years in environmental legislation in the history of Rhode Island, and we passed legislation to enact many of the consumer protection elements in the Federal Affordable Care Act into state law. That's important because, quite frankly, there's just too much uncertainty about what's happening and going to happen in Washington. This gives Rhode Islanders permanent protections if federal law is ever weakened or repealed.

“Last year, we increased our annual funding by an additional $500,000 to the Rhode Island Community Food Bank and provided them with a one-time allocation of $3 million.

“We are keenly aware that more people need assistance, and all of this isn't enough. Too many people in Rhode Island are struggling. There are still folks who don't have access to good transportation¹, health, food, or safe homes.

“My ask of all of you is simple. It doesn't cost anything but your time. Partner with us in the General Assembly and please make your voices heard when legislation is being introduced. Let us know what you think about it, and how it impacts you and the people you work with, both positively and negatively. Please reach out to your state representative, and testify before a committee. Submit written emails or feedback - your input is critical to the process.

“There are still communities who are opposed to the legislation that we've passed and don't want more housing. They want to maintain the status quo, and all of us here know that the status quo is not working and has not worked. Until all Rhode Islanders have a safe place to live and enough food to eat, our efforts in the General Assembly will continue. On behalf of all of us in the General Assembly, thank you for the important work that you do. God bless you all.”

Speaker Joseph Shekarchi

Participants marched from the nearby Gloria Day Evangelical Lutheran Church to the Rhode Island State House. The event was emceed by Stephanie Hague, who works at the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, and the opening prayer was delivered by Rabbi Howard Voss-Altman. I present Rabbi Voss-Altman’s opening prayer below, complete and lightly edited:

“Eternal One, creator of life, the one who animates the magnificence of all that we see and all that we don't see, all that we experience and all that we don't experience, we offer this prayer to you in the hope that you'll teach us how to open our eyes just a little bit wider, so we might see just a few more people who need to be seen. 13 months ago, just before the Christmas holiday, many of us stood together right here at the State House in the bitter cold and wind in support of the poor and the homeless who were camping right here in canvas tents.

“In a nation as wealthy as ours and in a state as blessed as Rhode Island, the presence of dozens of people living in tents was ugly and shameful. It was an abomination, oh God, a black mark on a society too indifferent to care about our most vulnerable neighbors. We said to ourselves, oh God, ‘The sight of people suffering in our midst is too much to bear and reminds us of how far we are from your vision of justice and fairness.’ And then we said, ‘Let us remove these people and their suffering from our sight. If we can only avert our eyes from other people's misery, if only we can avoid thinking about the plight of the poor, the infirm, the widow, and the orphan, surely we'll be able to go forward in our lives with a clear conscience.’

“And yet, despite our best efforts to look away, we know, Eternal One, that you have given us all of the tools we need to create the world you have envisioned. You have given us eyes so that we can witness what it means to struggle from one day to the next. You have given us ears so that we'll be able to hear the pleas of our neighbor. You've given us a heart so that we could feel someone else's pain and they, in turn, could feel our pain as well, most importantly, you've given us a brain, an intellect, and a way to work together to identify and solve problems, a way to figure out how to share our abundant blessings, a way to distribute our resources and our wealth more equitably and fairly, a way to plow your fields for our family and still leave the corners for those who have no fields to plow.

“All of these things can be done, oh God if only we have the will to realize the vision you've given us. Indeed, not so long ago in a hallowed place like this, we did have the will. We did have the vision. We did have the words:

“‘So here’s the Great Society. It’s the time — and it’s going to be soon — when nobody in this country is poor. It’s the time — and there’s no point in waiting — when every boy or girl can have all the education that boy or girl can put to good use. It’s the time when there is a job for everybody who wants to work. It’s the time when every slum is gone from every city in America, and America is beautiful. It’s the time when man gains full domination under God over his own destiny. It’s the time of peace on earth and goodwill among men.’

“These words were not spoken by a liberal rabbi like Abraham Joshua Heschel, or a black civil rights leader like Dr. King. This holy vision, these biblical words, were spoken by President Lyndon Johnson in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at a political rally on October 27th, 1964, just seven days before he would win the election in a landslide. This is the rhetoric we once heard from our president, the rhetoric that once united our nation in possibility and hope for a better future.

“Oh, Eternal One, as we stand together on the cusp of hope and change, let us once again recall the words that can unite us. Let us express these words as often as we can. Let us remind our representatives, as we do today and every day, that we have priorities to build abundant and affordable housing, eradicate homelessness, demand a living wage for every Rhode Islander, insist on adequate healthcare for every resident, and most of all, to recognize that such hopes are not beyond our means, not beyond what we can imagine or accomplish. They are clearly and simply the vision, God, that you are waiting for us to realize. In your words, oh God, and in the words of President Johnson almost 60 years ago, may a time for the Great Society be soon, and let us say, ‘Amen.’”

Senate President Ruggerio did not attend the event, nor did Governor Daniel McKee, but the Governor did send his Deputy Chief of Staff, Christopher Abhulime, to say a few words on behalf of the administration.

The centerpiece of the event was the keynote address from Angela Howard-McParland, the Justice Resource Manager of the Rhode Island Sisters of Mercy. The full text and video of her keynote can be read and viewed here.

As happens every year during this event, clergy stepped to the microphone to offer prayers for Rhode Island elected leaders. The event closed out with a closing prayer from Swami Yogatmananda of the Vendanta Society of Providence and a song, “This Little Light of Mine,” led by Pamela Poniatowski of the Rhode Island Poor People’s Campaign.

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Full video:

1. The Speaker’s mention of transportation gives one hope that he will provide enough funding to save the Rhode Island Public Transportation Authority (RIPTA).