Is Governor McKee looking to retaliate against homelessness service providers who question him?
The Boston Globe’s Alexa Gagosz reported [on X]
that Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee “wants to reevaluate the
contract that the Rhode Island Coalition to End Homelessness has
to run the Coordinated Entry System”—the HUD-mandated shelter
priority list. 
"Everything is fine and I'm doing great.
Woe to anyone who says otherwise."
This comes less than a week after the Coalition’s Executive Director, Kimberly Simmons, issued a statement critical of the Governor’s inaction on the crisis of homelessness in the State.
The Governor has long disputed rates of homelessness in RI. On December 9, 2022, I wrote:
The Rhode Island Coalition to End Homelessness estimates that there are 80+ encampments across the state and that around 385 people are sleeping unhoused, including families with children, every night.
Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee, who is actively seeking to evict an encampment on the State House plaza, disputed these numbers on Thursday.
“The 80 number, I don’t believe is accurate,” said the Governor, who later, and contradictorily said, “I’m not disputing any numbers.”
The Governor added that there is no list of the 80+
encampments.
“I know the advocates have that list,” said Uprise RI.
“They don’t,” said Governor McKee, only it turns out they
do, and that information was provided to the State this Fall.
When the Governor first proposed using the Armory as a
warming shelter, he planned on sheltering 50 people at the site a day. Over 200 people sought refuge there daily.
Governor McKee will forever be unable to address
homelessness as long as he fails to grasp its significance and scope.
This isn’t leadership - it’s pigheaded ignorance and
deliberate obfuscation.
And this points to a systemic issue with our system:
If a service provider tells a politically unpopular truth,
they face loss of funds and even extinction at the hands of politicians more
concerned about appearances than facts.
Good people doing hard work find themselves tiptoeing around
the egos of narcissists.
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