Rhode Island reconvenes the Interagency Council on Homelessness after eight years of failed leadership
As homelessness expands and people die, people ask, "Where is the urgency?"
Under pressure from advocates, the Rhode Island Interagency Council on Homelessness held its first meeting in nearly eight years on Thursday. The last time the Council met was on January 12, 2017, when Governor Daniel McKee was the Lieutenant Governor, and homelessness was considered a problem that could be eradicated. Since then, due to rising rents, an explosion of evictions, and a lack of resources to help Rhode Island’s most vulnerable individuals and families, homelessness rates have exploded and have more than doubled since Governor McKee took office.
The meeting, chaired by Acting Secretary of Housing Deborah Goddard, was held at the Rhode Island Department of Administration building across the street from the State House. The two presentations were dry reports on what little the State has done to combat homelessness or prepare for the brutal winter ahead. With temperatures plunging below freezing over the weekend, the need for warming centers and emergency shelters is greater than the supply.
Here’s the video:
The meeting only really became interesting during public comment. I’ve transcribed that and edited it for clarity below. I was somehow the first to testify.
Steve Ahlquist: I want a couple of comments. First, this room is not great for acoustics. It would be nice to have amplification in the future. Second, I think this building itself is a barrier to entry for many marginalized people. You have to go through at least two layers of security. If you’re a person who might be marginalized or fear the police for any reason, you might not want to come here. Those people are being unfairly ostracized because of where this is.
Moving on to the major issue, our state leadership lacks urgency, as evidenced by the fact that very few of those leading the various departments and serving under the Governor felt the need to attend. They sensed their boss’s lack of concern.
I believe some in this room will be taking vacation time over the holidays while people freeze to death on our streets.
This is the first meeting of this body in nearly eight years. In those eight years, homelessness in Rhode Island has increased. It has more than doubled since Governor McKee took office. On average, more than one person a week dies while experiencing homelessness in the State, which is sadly one way to solve the problem.
The Governor’s policies criminalize homelessness, lack compassion, and are not even economically prudent. It is just cruelty. No offense to Acting Secretary Goddard, but she’s the fourth person to helm the department in what, a little over two years? The Governor’s track record for finding the right person [to lead the Department of Housing] is far from stellar.ly love the deck chair rearrangement I’m hearing about here. But remember the rain we had a few weeks ago? People suffered during that rainstorm. People were in doorways, cars, makeshift shelters, and tents, and it wasn’t even below freezing or even close to freezing. It was like 30 or 40-something degrees. In reality, people in those situations suffer.
I will not believe you when you say you are working on this. I do not believe your plans, ideas, and RFPs will improve things. I’ve been through this and covering homelessness for 12 years. I will only believe when the people on the strecan to tell me that they are receiving real help. And until that happens, everything said here is bullshit. I will believe you when death while homeless becomes shockingly rare, which it isn’t right now. It is a weekly occurrence. It happened on Broad Street just this last week. A man crawled into the back of a U-Haul truck, and he died, whether from overdose or freezing, I don't know.
During the Housing Committee hearing about ECHO Village, the Fire Marshal said that people being outside is not an emergency; it’s just homelessness, giving the sense that it’s just ordinary. But it is an emergency.
And Ben [Benjamin Haynie, Chief of Program Development at the Department of Housing], you said it. You said [people experiencing homelessness] were going to seek out emergency care at these new [proposed] Navigation Centers. If they’re going to navigation centers and getting emergency help, we know this is an emergency.
We’re pretending it’s not an emergency, but it ly an emergency. When people are dying, the people in this room and around this table might see it [as ordinary]. I do not.
Lastly, do you know that there are less than a quarter of the beds needed to help LGBTQ+ youth who are experiencing homelessness than we need? The beds we have are all full. There’s only one shelter that does it in Rhode Island. It’s full. There’s probably four to five times that need - that didn’t even come up today.
The Governor’s policies criminalize homelessness, lack compassion, and are not even economically prudent. It is just cruelty.
Dr. Rebecca Karb: I am an emergency physician at Rhode Island Hospital and Miriam Hospital Crown Health and also the medical director of the Street Medicine Program. Between those two jobs, I’m working with this population seven days a week and trying to serve them.
It’s also my 10th winter in the emergency department in the Providence area. And already, this is by far the worst winter that I’ve seen. I worked overnight on Sunday, and probably half of my patients were there seeking shelter from the cold and the weather. And not for nothing, but the ED is probably the most expensive warming center the State and society can pay for. It’s a huge waste of resources.
I’m really glad that this group has gotten together. I’m excited about this, but I am scared that it’s obviously not going to help now, and we need something to help now.
I would like you to consider framing this discussion in terms of what [one of the speakers] said: supply and demand. Instead of seeing numbers for how much the municipalities are getting or how much grants are, what are the number of beds available for that price, and how many peoneedd of beds? A data-driven response using data that the Coalition collects and the Point in Time counts to say: This is what we would ideally need, this is what we’re offering people, and here’s the gap. That needs to be presented along with every dollar sign, saying this is where people are able to go and how many people are able to go there.
The second thing is making it clear what the reality of these centers is like. I’m sure most people are aware of this, but at the warming centers, you cannot lie down. There are chairs that you have to sit up in all night, and there are no blankets or pillows. You cannot lie down. That is not a place to get a good rest. It’s not dignified - it’s humiliating. It’s the same as being in the ED waiting room, where you have to sit in a chair. It’s not any better than that. These warming centers are not even a good emergency solution in my mind because people can’t get sleep.
My third point is about moving forward the communication component because this is a huge deal. We need more communication with the public about how this all is working and what’s available. I know from working in the ED that everyoasksing the nurses and providers, "Where do we send people?" Nobody knows what to tell people about where to go.
Paula Hudson: Because there is nowhere to go.
Dr. Rebecca Karb: Being in the Providence area, I know that the North Main Street shelter is open as a warming center. That place has been full pretty much all year. There’s no extra capacity in these spaces for the winter. So even though they’re now designated warming centers, they don’t have all this extra room they’re waiting for people to enter. Those places are already fullI’mo I'm just wondering… what is the backup plan here for right now?
…at the warming centers, you cannot lie down. There are chairs that you have to sit up in all night, and there are no blankets or pillows. You cannot lie down. That is not a place to get a good rest. It’s not dignified - it’s humiliating.
Bernie Beaudreau: I’m a volunteer with the Rhode Island Homelessness Advocacy Project. I’ve been involved for about a week and a half, but I’ve worked on hunger and poverty issues in the State for 45 years. Every morning my wife and I walk, and there are two places where there are tents. We have recently seen at least one person standing outside the tents, so we know they’re occupied. We’ve been tempted to reach out to them, but we frankly don’t know what to do or say.
I’m thinking that the forecast for this weekend. The temperature is going to be in the twenties on Sunday. It doesn’t have to get down to zero degrees before people will die from exposure, and people are dying, so I have an urgent, immediate question. The governance thing that was presented has no urgency. This is a child in the well [situation]. Remember the kid in the well? It mobilized the entire planet. We have people in the well.
Woonsocket City Council Member Valerie Gonzales: I started to serve the community as a minister. My husband and I pastor a church, and I just got elected to my third term of two years. I’m very new to the politics of this, but I have been serving the community for a long time. I want to applaud the effort to put this together. I can tell you, from personal experience of coming in and not knowing a lot about how everything operates at the government level, it was very hard for me to understmanyt of things. The more I learned about different agencies, the more I felt there was soof disconnect. That was my experience.
In 2023, we [in Woonsocket] started the Community Partnership Task Force. This task force includes the Mayor, City Counselors, public safety, housing, and State and local agencies like CCA [Community Care Alliance] and HEZ.
Putting everybody at the table began a conversation that has been one of the most productive times we’ve had in Woonsocket. When you look at the statistics, it doesn’t necessarily reflect that because it takes time to put some of these things together. I am very proud of the efforts. We just got a City Council elected, and we have a willingness to get things done.
But for us, it feels a little bit frustrating when you have that much willingness, but there seems to be roadblocks and red tape to get things done. metng with one of our newest City Councilors and he asked, “What can we do for tomorrow?” Yes, there are things we can do in the short term, but we have a lot of limitations.
We're currently looking at a property and want to get it going immediately as a shelter. In Woonsocket, we have hundreds of tents in an eight-mile radius. Every time it's cold or anytime there is bad weather, people come to the social workers. We're having an issue with social workers feeling depressed because they're looking at people face-to-face and unable to give them the necessary resources.
While I appreciate everybody's help and willingness to help, I also want to see if there's a way to not just help the homeless, but to help them help themselves. The homeless people that I'm meeting are so willing to volunteer and be part of the solution, and I want to give them that.
I have a letter from the Task Force that I want to read, and I will end with that.
“Dear members of the Interagency Council of Homelessness, we applaud the State for bringing back the Council on Homelessness after a 10-year hiatus. Woonsocket began planning a group of City leadership and community providers two years ago in a collaborative effort has led to the development of a plan to end homelessness through short-term support and longer term development supportive housing.”
[Secretary], I emailed you the links to our report and the action plan.
“The Woonsocket Community Partnership Task Force would like to express our deep concern regarding the imminent end of the DCYF [Department of Children, Youth and Families] hotel programs and its potential impact on families and children facing homelessness.
“As we are all aware, housing instability is a critical issue in the current system of emergency accommodations such as the DCYF hotel programs that have provided temporary but vital lifeline to families in need. However, as the DCYF hotel program winds down, we are extremely worried about the future of these families, particularly those with young children. The end of this program will leave us without safe, stable housing options. This will exacerbate the already severe challenges faced by these families, affecting the health, safety, and wellbeing of children. The Woonsocket Community Partnership Task Force urges the Interagency Council on Homelessness to secure immediate and long-term funding for solutitowill support families in attaining stable and permanent housing.
“While temporary housing options such as the hotel program have played a role,they’ree not a sustainable solution. We need a comprehensive approach that includes access to affordable housing, supporting services for families, and funding for traditional homeless housing programs that will offer these families a chance to regain stability.”
We're simply asking you to please look at this issue. If there's anything we can do quickly to get these families, especially those with children, housed, we would greatly appreciate it. Thank you all.
Michelle Taylor - Vice President of Social Health Services at Community Care Alliance: In February of 2021, we opened a drop-in center for individuals who were homeless. At that time, we were seeinabout 25 unsheltered individualsed. At last count, this month, we have 130, and disproportionately, that is made up of people with severe and persistent mental illness, the elderly, and the disabled. Recently, we had a gentleman released from our local hospital - 74 years old, with a walker, diabetes, and dementia. We scrambled to find him a temporary placement, but this man needs an assisted living facility. We found out that he was basically turned away from every option that was available to him, and we got him back at the hospital to see if they could facilitate it. As a behavioral health organization, wcannotto get someone placed in an assisted living or a skilled nursing facility.
When I called to check on him the next day, the discharge planner in the emergency room told me “We are very busy here” - and I’m quoting verbatim - “We are very busy. We’ve had four calls on this man, leave us alone. Do your job and get him housing.”
We were told later that he was discharged to one of the emergency shelters in the State. I called to confirm that he was there. He was not there. He eventually turned up again and was re-hospitalized for about a week. We were told he was good to go. He could ambulate, no problem. So we coordinated with one of the emergency shelter providers when he got there, and they said, “We can’t help with this...”
[At this point, Secretary Goddard, eager to move on, indicated that Michelle Taylor should wrap up her story.']
Michelle Taylor: Yeah, okay. So the bottom line is our system is deeply, deeply, deeply broken. I called EOHHS [Executive Office of Health and Human Services], the Department of Health [DOH], and the Office of Healthy Aging. I have filed complaints everywhere I bly can. I wish this were a unique incident. It happens that couple of weeks that we have someone in such a dire circumstance. Right now, I don’t know if this man is alive or dead. We have no idea where he ended up.
Recently, we had a gentleman released from our local hospital - 74 years old, with a walker, diabetes, and dementia.
We scrambled to find him a temporary placement, but this man needs an assisted living facility. We found out that he was basically turned away from every option that was available to him,
Right now, I don’t know if this man is alive or dead. We have no idea where he ended up.
Paula Hudson: Why does it take five departments to determine that we should open a warm shelter?
David Schnell, Winter Readiness & Response Project: That’s the protocol right now to ensure we consult with experts. That’s why it's set up like that.
Paula Hudson: I’m no expert. I’m not. I’m an expert in delivering services to the homeless. It seems to me that we know when it’s going to be cold. We know when rain is coming. Our meteorologists have gotten very good lately. Could we just rely on meteorologists and not have this chain of command that has to be consulted?
My second question is, what about tonight? We continually ask, “What about tonight?”
Lastly, I wonder if we could be given information on who was actually sitting on this committee and why they were chosen.
Tanya, Brown University Health: I work alongside Dr. Karb, and want to echo everything she said. I also want to highlight that communication is a struggle for us. We do not receive timely communication for emergency shelters. We do not have accurate information to provide to our patients. And when we, as leaders, are seeking that information, we have to jump through a lot of hoops to get it. It’s been a real challenge.
I’d also highlight that having so many homeless individuals come into the emergency department is taking away from the patients with acute medical needs. We all will need to access the emergency room at some point in time. When our providers are maxed out with patients who don’t necessarily need to be there, it stresses the system as a whole.
Pamela Poniatowski: I’m from the Poor People’s Campaign. Steve, Paula, and all of you pretty much said what I wanted to say.
This is an emergency - right now. It’s going to be in the teens this weekend. I do not want to see one more person die.
We lost someone yesterday. Yesterday. It’s because of the poverty that she was in and the fact that she was homeless for years. She was on the street for years, and shouldn't have been walking up and down three flights of stairs, but no housing was available. Her heart gave out yesterday, but she was still working and trying to get help for everyone that we see in Mathewson Street Church every day - and there are hundreds more coming daily.
This needs to be taken care of now. You guys need to start meeting weekly. You need people [on this Council] with lived experience. Don't tell me the theoretical experience is what we need to rely on right now because we've been relying on this ever since we started working on it.
Eric, how long have you been working on this?
Eric Hirsch: 30 years.
Pamela Poniatowski: So, at this point, we need to talk to the people on the street. We need to find out what’s happening. We need to find out what we can do. We have buildings in Rhode Island that we can put people in when they are in danger of losing their lives. We also need to stop the practice of harassing our people who have nothing - they’re living in tents. The tents are being bulldoze,ed so anything that they need to get services - their social security number and - all the stuff everybody asks f-r, they do not havt because of this practice.
It is inhumane and immoral. If we don't start looking at this like it is, we should not be celebrating holidays. We should not be saying, “This is the season of giving.” I am horrified at what is going on, and I needed you to know.
Dennis Gonzalez: I’m not sure who compiled the Council. Have we thought about adding service providers and folks with lived experience to the conversation, as they are probably closer than the decision makers? We love decision makers—we love them so much—but they get second—or third-hand information.
Municipalities should also be included. Providence, Pawtucket, and Woonsocket have the highest number of homeless people in the State and should be at the table.
Wendy: Have we considered declaring this a public health crisis instead of a State of Emergency? We know that has worked in other states.
Phyllis: I’m currently homeless and I look terrible because we have to carry all our stuff with us all the time. I fell yesterday. I should be at the hospital. Instead, I came to this meeting, and when I leave, I am going to Miriam Hospital because I broke my orbital bone.
What I want to know is how come nobody in Providence applied for a State shelter grant? Nobody in Providence put in for a grant to have an additional warming station?
Toni Lee: It seems to me that there are purposeful, invisible barriers to urgency, education, communication, and funding, not only for homelessness but for the supportive dynamics that are required to effectuate these processes and these changes. We have facilities, but we also have legal barriers in marginalized communities, and communities impacted by Covid. We seem to have the existing systems, but none of them seem to care about anything other than the data, the statistics, and the things that complicate the accessibility of the people who need it and are experiencing this. The numbers are there, but it doesn’t happen.
Reverend Wendy Van Orden: Every week we have a meeting of the Rhode Island Homeless Advocacy Project and we hear tremendously compassionate stories, heartrending stories, of individuals who deserve respect and care and how they’re suffering at the moment. We meet weekly. We’d like to invite as many people who want to hear our stories, experiences, pain, and struggles recognized, heard, and served.
Don - Currently Unhoused: I appreciate everybody on the Council. I want to suggest that people living on the street, such as myself, be formally part of this group, because without that, we’re not heard. You don’t know what we need. You’re in your homes, you’re not in a tent. You’re not sleeping in your feces and vomit because you’re too sick to get up and go to a hospital. You don’t know what it’s like out there unless you’ve been there. If anybody wants to ghost me for a week, come on out. I’ll be a gracious host.
OMG‼️ Thanks Steve for your attendance, recording, and testimony. Can we call the UN for help? This is such unconscionable bullshit that there can be no excuse. Explanations of firewalls and bureaucratic melodramas are so pathetic they should be criminalized. I’m not joking about the UN. The homeless here are basically treated as unwanted refugees. It’s all vulgar.
TY, Steve, for your tireless advocacy. My experience watching the year-old Pathways to End Gun Violence Task Force (PVD Council, CM Miguel Sanchez, chair) has illuminated the necessity of inter-agency coordination in order to solve problems. Dr. Karb & CW Valerie Gonzalez gave similar testimony, here, in your report on RI homelessness.
When doctors, City Council Reps, Mayors, and state legislators voice their *political will* to alleviate the public health crisis called RI homelessness, we allies need to boost that shit on social media. And boost our faithful journo friends who tell the truth.