The Politics of Homelessness Breaks Out Among Top Democrats

The Politics of Homelessness Breaks Out Among Top Democrats

Governor Dan McKee refuses to declare a State of Emergency to address Rhode Island’s homelessness crisis.

President of the Senate Dominick Ruggerio, Majority Leader Valarie Lawson, and Majority Whip David Tikoian announced on Monday that they are calling for a State of Emergency. The Senate leadership claims they have also asked Housing and Municipal Government Chairman Jacob Bissaillon and Government Oversight Committee Chairman Mark McKenney to schedule a joint hearing to review the state’s plan to address homelessness on Tuesday, January 21.

“A State of Emergency will grant the Governor the tools he needs to take immediate action to secure shelter for individuals throughout Rhode Island and overcome any further bureaucratic delays in the opening of Echo Village,” the leaders said. “Declaring a State of Emergency would empower the Governor to work across and through state agencies to mobilize resources, streamline solutions, and provide immediate relief to the growing number of individuals and families experiencing homelessness. The declaration will also serve as an important tool in overcoming any last-minute bureaucratic barriers and challenges to opening Echo Village and bringing its additional pallet shelters online during the winter months.”

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But that is just the beginning of the incoherent state response to homelessness, and the State of Emergency is just one of the many chaotic issues being debated by leading Democrats:

McKee and his own secretary of housing designee, Deborah Goddard, differ over the future of Charlesgate — the high-rise complex on the corner of Randall and North Main Street in Providence. The state of Rhode Island paid $7 million, and Goddard said in a recent interview that the state should not be operating it.

McKee has publicly disagreed with her.

 

Pallet Houses - Echo Village

According to data provided to GoLocal by the Office of Housing in February 2024, the cost of the acquisition of the pallet homes in Providence, the land preparation, and the operation of the facility for the first will total $3 million.

The total per unit cost is just over $66,000 for the first year — including the first year's support services as well as the initial acquisition and site preparation. Those costs have continued to climb due to security and maintenance costs. 

Now, nearly a year later, Senate leaders said that a State of Emergency would enable temporary exemptions to the fire code, for example, and encouraged the Governor to post a 24-hour fire detail at Echo Village until the fire suppression system is operational there. The Senate leadership is encouraging expediting necessary inspections and working with RIPTA to provide fee-free transportation to shelters where beds are available.

Referring to a letter calling on the Governor to declare a public health emergency to address homelessness, which was signed by many members of the Chamber last week, the leaders said, “While we do not agree with all the language of the letter, we support our colleagues’ call for a State of Emergency. We look forward to working collaboratively with Governor McKee to support him in any way we can to get people off the streets and into shelters immediately.”

 

Providence Council and Mayor Battle

Providence City Councilors Justin Roias and Miguel Sanchez opened Providence Hall up for the homeless last week.

The Council members claimed that the response to homelessness from Mayor Brett Smiley and McKee does not meet the current demand for shelter.

Roias said, "With only two 24/7 emergency shelters open, the response from the mayor and governor has been woefully inadequate. This failure has left us no choice but to take the unprecedented step of opening the City Council chambers as a community gathering space where folks are able to stay warm during freezing temperatures." 

"As local elected leaders, we cannot allow our neighbors to freeze to death on our streets," said Sanchez (Ward 6). "No one in our city should endure these deadly conditions because of a failure of government to protect its people.”

Smiley criticized the council members.

“I oppose [the] action by the City Council. City Hall does not have the resources, expertise or proper facilities to serve as an emergency shelter. The City is supporting multiple emergency warming shelters across Providence with available beds that are professionally staffed with the resources and tools our unhoused population needs,” said Smiley.

“Opening City Hall as a shelter disrespects the hard work of our community partners who have the expertise to adequately provide support for our community and this action distracts from the serious solutions the City and our partners have been leading to support our unhoused populations,” added Smiley.

 

East Providence Mayor Closed Emergency Shelter at Temps Dropped to Mid-20s

The City of East Providence announced on Sunday afternoon that it was closing its “extreme weather”  shelter effective immediately.

“[The city] will close our temporary extreme weather overnight warming shelter at the Robert E. Rock Senior Center tonight, Sunday, January 12, 2024,” said East Providence in a press release.

GoLocal asked why the shelter was being closed; Mayor Bob Silva’s spokesperson, Matthew Paddock, said, “The temporary extreme weather warming shelter, a pop-up shelter in our senior center, is closed for tonight and will reopen during periods of extreme cold temperatures.”

 

State House Hearing

Bissaillon, whose district includes the Echo Village shelter, and McKenney joined the three Senate leaders in calling on the Governor to declare a State of Emergency. They have scheduled a joint hearing of the Senate Committee on Housing and Municipal Government and the Senate Committee on Rules, Government Ethics, and Oversight for Tuesday, January 21, at 2 p.m. in Room 313. The agenda will focus on three topics:

- the Department of Housing’s preparedness and response to homelessness,
- the proposed reorganization of the Department of Housing, and
- the status of Echo Village.

In addition to the senators who signed a letter last week calling on Governor McKee to declare a State of Emergency, other senators joining in the leadership’s call to action include:

Senator Peter A. Appollonio Jr.
Senator Samuel W. Bell
Senator Jacob Bissaillon
Senator Robert Britto
Senator John P. Burke
Senator Frank A. Ciccone, III
Senator Andrew R. Dimitri
Senator Louis P. DiPalma
Senator Walter S. Felag, Jr.
Senator Hanna M. Gallo
Senator Victoria Gu
Senator Matthew L. LaMountain
Senator Mark McKenney
Senator Melissa A. Murray
Senator Todd M. Patalano
Senator Leonidas P. Raptakis
Senator V. Susan Sosnowski
Senator Brian J. Thompson
Senator Lori Urso
Senator Lammis J. Vargas
Senator Samuel D. Zurier