Dear Neighbors:
I hope you are keeping healthy during the past week’s run of frigid temperatures, which come at a time when (according the Department of Health’s Data Hub) we are seeing an uptick in flu cases and a signal from wastewater data of a potential future increase in COVID cases. In this week’s letter I will discuss last week’s hearing on the State’s homelessness response.
A. The Call For Action
The relative population of homeless Rhode Islanders (i.e. the number of individuals in shelters, temporary housing, and unsheltered settings on a single winter night) is among the worst in the country. Earlier this month, members of the Providence City Council opened City Hall as an overnight shelter. While this was an impractical gesture, it contributed to a broader discussion of the concerns raised by advocacy groups (and many of you) concerning the delayed opening of Echo Village, a development of pallet shelters near Route 146 in Providence. General Assembly members organized a letter-writing campaign urging the Governor to declare a state of emergency to open Echo Village immediately, notwithstanding a perceived holdup due to excessive fire suppression requirements. The Senate Oversight and Housing Committees held a joint hearing this past Tuesday.
B. Lessons From The Hearing
1. The Echo Village Pallet Shelter
The Committees heard presentations from Crossroads Rhode Island (which provides homeless services), House of Hope (which has managed the construction and eventual operation of Echo Village) and the Acting Secretary of Housing. We learned that Echo Village is not ready for occupancy due to a number of factors beyond fire suppression, such as the installation of electricity. In other words, the fire safety issue has contributed to the delays, but an emergency declaration at this time would not bring about an immediate opening of the development. Instead, the presenters promised an opening within the coming weeks, and no later than the end of February. The House Speaker has introduced legislation to clarify the applicable building code for developments of this kind, which will allow local communities to avoid the delays Echo Village saw.
2. Rhode Island’s Broader Homelessness Response
Despite the General Assembly’s efforts to create a unified Department of Housing, the turnover in directors has left the Department’s response to homelessness dispersed among different State agencies and committees. The Acting Secretary promised to develop a plan to organize the Department and its functions, repeating earlier promises from earlier Secretaries who have come and gone.
3. Local Impacts
At the hearing, I expressed my concern about the unsheltered homeless, many of whom reside in encampments on public property. Although a recent United States Supreme Court decision held that local responses do not raise Constitutional issues, there are clearly fundamental values at stake. At a recent neighborhood meeting, a Providence Police Department officer described the difficult balance he has to find between his compassion for encampment residents and legitimate concerns neighbors have concerning the external public health and safety impacts these encampments generate. He described the “merry go round” that results when (1) he offers to help residents go to a shelter, (2) they refuse, (3) he orders them to leave their encampment, (4) they acknowledge he is just doing his job and (5) they move somewhere else until the cycle resumes. I suggested to the Acting Secretary that the recently revived Interagency Council on Homelessness should expand its charge to find ways to coordinate and support constructive local responses to the unsheltered homeless.
C. Reminder
The Providence Public Schools are at a crossroads concerning their future direction. A Senate Study Commission prepared a Report last year with a plan for reform and improvement. I (with other Commission members) will present our findings and recommendations at a meeting sponsored by City Council members Helen Anthony and Sue Anderbois. We also would like to hear your feedback. The meeting will take place at Hope High School this Wednesday, January 29 at 6:00 p.m.