Although Governor Dan McKee, Lt. Governor Sabina Matos and top members of their administrations came to Hope & Main in Warren on Friday night to discuss long-term goals Rhode Islanders hope to see accomplished, the evening did more to highlight the growing urgency with which advocates are pleading McKee to address immediate homelessness and affordable housing crises that threaten thousands of individuals and families throughout the state.

A group of more than a dozen protesters from the Rhode Island Homeless Advocacy Project, homeless shelter nonprofits, and the Rhode Island Homeless Bill of Rights Defense Committee made their presence known at the meeting — the first of several public meetings organized with the goal of formalizing a working document known as “Rhode Island 2030,” which McKee’s administration hopes to use as a framework to optimize ARPA investments and policy decisions throughout the next decade.

“The 2030 Plan is terrific for nine years later, but what about tonight?” said Barbara Freitas, Director of the Rhode Island Homeless Advocacy Project during the open Q&A session. “Where are we going to tell people to go? The shelters are full, and we have a line a mile long to get people into shelters, and 600 people on the street. What are we supposed to do? We have been begging this governor since May to do something. I’m sorry, but the 2030 plan is not going to help them tonight.”

Eric Hirsch, a professor at Providence College and chair of the Homeless Management Information System Steering Committee, which helps to count the number of people living out of doors and in shelters throughout the state, handed out flyers of information to attendees of the community meeting.

According to their data, there were 575 living in “places not meant for human habitation” within the past 30 days, and over 1,000 individuals on waiting lists for a space in a shelter, including 162 family households consisting of 505 parents and children. They called on McKee to immediately issue a state of emergency regarding the issue.

“We’ve never had this many,” Hirsch said. “I’ve been here since 1990, and we’ve never had close to this number. Usually it’s closer to 100, and maybe no families at all.”

Hirsch said that he and fellow advocates reached out to Governor McKee back in May, asking him to establish a homelessness task force to assess short and long-term plans to address the issue, but no task force has been created or even mentioned to date. Meanwhile, Hirsch said he has seen the state auction off state-owned property to developers rather than try to convert it into affordable housing units or additional shelter space. Rhode Island is one of the few states in the country to have not utilized any of its available ARPA funding, of which the state’s share is around $1.1 billion.

“Because they’re ‘homeless people,’ it’s not urgent,” Hirsch said. “There’s no sense of urgency, except for the people out there — our outreach workers and the people themselves — they have the sense of urgency.”

Responding to Freitas, Commerce Secretary Stefan Pryor said that the McKee administration was taking the issue seriously, and that very night there were officials testifying before the Rhode Island House of Representatives to release an initial pool of money to address emergency housing for those living outdoors.

“We are together on the need to create new shelter opportunities and permanent supportive housing for members of the homeless community,” Pryor said. “We are right now, led by Governor McKee and the Lt. Governor, with our staff, at the State House, asking the general assembly to start to free up the federal money, which is here but not yet authorized for expenditure.”

“Why did it take six months?” Freitas retorted.

For those on the front lines addressing the issue, like Jo-Ann Capaldi of House of Hope, the issue is not one where they can simply wait for a solution to materialize.

“It’s really depressing right now,” she said. “We go home every day crying because we just keep telling people, ‘We’re trying. We’re trying.’ And we feel like it’s falling on deaf ears.”

Administration’s response

Governor McKee’s office responded to an inquiry regarding the homelessness issue in a statement:

“Addressing homelessness is a priority for the McKee-Matos Administration. The Governor has met with almost all of the homelessness service providers in the State in addition to visiting with homeless individuals at the Amos House,” it reads.

“The State's Office of Housing and Community Development is in the process of approving a multi-million dollar proposal to continue the emergency hotel shelter program until spring through another provider, Crossroads RI, using a combination of federal funding sources. This program has provided an important safety net for hundreds of Rhode Islanders,” it continues. “The State is also in the process of approving additional projects to shelter Rhode Island families and individuals through the winter months and is making investments in long-term housing options to offer more sustainable solutions. This includes rental assistance and rapid rehousing, as well as $50 million for building and preserving affordable units through the recently approved bond. In addition to the support RI Housing is offering through Rent Relief RI, the State has used federal funds to increase its investment during the pandemic by more than $40 million to support those experiencing homelessness and to prevent homelessness.”

“The McKee-Matos Administration recognizes much more needs to be done and, as a first step, has submitted to the General Assembly its RI Rebounds, a plan which includes $29.5 million in additional near-term investments to supplement services for homeless individuals and families, to build more affordable and supportive housing, and to boost the capacity of the State's Office of Housing and Community Development to carry out this work,” the statement concludes.

RI 2030 priorities

As for the intended agenda of the night, a large group of community members did indeed show up to share their priorities for 10 policy areas, which include everything from K-12 education, infrastructure, economic growth, climate, housing, public health, workforce development, small businesses and children/families/early education.

Attendees wrote ideas and thoughts regarding each category on sticky notes and attached them to large poster boards to help target the administration’s efforts as they shape the 2030 agenda moving forward.

The meeting was kicked off by Lisa Raiola, founder of Hope & Main, who said that investing in the local economy is the best way to ensure meaningful returns.

“I feel that if we want to build back better, we have to build back local,” she said. “If we are able to make local investment that is sustainable and build wealth in our communities and build ownership in our communities and gives all entrepreneurs in our state an equal, fair shot at achieving their dreams, which is what we do here, we will be happy with this moment of historic investment that we’re faced with.”

McKee highlighted that Rhode Island, normally seen as the first one in and last one out of difficult economic times, has responded well to the challenges of the pandemic — pointing out that the state is close to first in the country with its vaccination rate, and has led the nation in terms of economic reopening since the lockdowns of the spring in 2020.

“I’m very optimistic and very excited for what the future holds for Rhode Island,” McKee said. “Not saying we don’t have challenges, but we have great opportunity, and we want to focus on that opportunity as much as the challenges.”