Kimberly Simmons: RI Homelessness is a Public Health Crisis- The Governor has Misspoken
"The fact that there are over 650 human beings of all ages living outside in the New England winter elements every day should be appalling to everyone."
Never before has there been such a need for an urgent response from our elected and government officials in Rhode Island concerning homelessness. Instead, we have a Governor who presented the homelessness issue as almost a nonissue for the state yesterday. He claimed there “is a shelter provider whose occupancy is at 66% and that there was a surplus of beds.” He failed to mention that this only reflects three available adult beds and two beds designated for Transitional Aged Youth. Rhode Island has the second-highest rate of chronic homelessness in the country. Just this past year, 54 homeless residents have died, and that does not include those who have come out of homelessness and succumbed to the diseases and illnesses that they acquired while being homeless.
Service providers and other advocates are wondering where the outrage is - the sense of urgency to help our most vulnerable neighbors. This should not be a political football. The fact that there are over 650 human beings of all ages living outside in the New England winter elements every day should be appalling to everyone. This number has increased by 100 people from last year. Any other epidemic that critically impacts a population’s health, continues to negatively affect the community, stresses our healthcare system, and shows an increase in fatalities would ordinarily rise to the declaration of a public health emergency.
Next week, those who will be on the ground doing their best to keep people alive during what is to be a polar vortex in Rhode Island, where temperatures are expected to be in the single digits to zero degrees Fahrenheit with Arctic winds, sadly will have no options to provide shelter for all of our unhoused neighbors. We certainly can expect there to be more deaths as a result. There is no room for distortion, misrepresentation, or lying when it has to do with these realities.
If the Governor declared homelessness a Public Health Crisis, it would immediately make resources available and set in motion a coordinated response from government agencies and healthcare facilities. It would also trigger emergency protocols and additional funding to respond to the crisis. Rhode Island needs to take a page out of some other states where this has made a significant difference in saving lives.
Kimberly Simmons is the Executive Director of the Rhode Island Coalition to End Homelessness, which works collaboratively with advocates, providers, and faith-based organizations to create and advance lasting solutions to prevent and end homelessness. Notably, the Coalition, alongside advocates and constituents, lobbied and successfully passed the country’s first Homeless Bill of Rights in June 2012. Day to day, the Coalition runs lead on the State’s Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) and the permanent housing placement end of the Coordinated Entry System (CES) as well as the call center (available 365 days).
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Thank you, Kimberly!