Governor McKee misled and lied to the public about the state of homelessness in Rhode Island
Note that the Coordinated Entry System (CES)
is a dynamic system that is constantly shifting, but no shift is possible in
the system that will allow it to accommodate the 674 people now waiting for
shelter in Rhode Island.
“Even if we count these beds, the Governor apparently has no idea what he is talking about,” said Simmons. “He doesn’t realize that even if he was accurate, how does that address the over 600 individuals who still need beds?”
Original story here:
Rhode Island Governor Daniel McKee appeared
on Gene Valicenti’s right-wing radio show this morning. In
answer to questions about ECHO
Village, a long delayed Pallet Shelter project
that could potential house 45 people currently experiencing homelessness, the
Governor proceeded to mislead and lie to the public.
First, some basic facts: Rates of homelessness in Rhode Island have increased by 34.9% in the last year, and has more than doubled since Governor McKee took office. Over 650 people cannot find shelter in Rhode Island on any given night, a conservative estimate given that the last official count was nearly on year ago, and conditions have not improved.
Asked about the delays in completing ECHO Village, the
Governor acknowledged them, but then pointed to two other projects that he
implied would help to bridge the gap in available beds, and implied they were
open or would be opening soon. Summer Street Apartments, a project
by Crossroads, will add 176 units, in the Fall of 2025, nine months
from now. The purchase of the Charlesgate Senior Living Center in
Providence where the state hopes to shelter 200 people was only finalized in
October. When those units will open is unknown.
The Governor noted that the State currently has “more beds
today than we ever had” which is both true, and meaningless. Even as the State
has added beds, homelessness in Rhode Island has continued to rise, and the gap
in need has expanded, not narrowed. See this chart:
The Governor then made his big lie:
Governor McKee: In fact, all our beds are not
even filled right now.
Gene Valicenti: You have shelter beds, you’re saying, open tonight.
For anybody who’s homeless, there’s a bed for them tonight to stay warm. Are
you saying that?
Governor McKee: If the call is made, there are beds that are
available right now.
The wait time on Rhode Island’s Coordinated Entry
System (CES) is over two hours as of this writing. There are no
beds available for women, families, or couples. There may be
beds available, for men, at Harrington Hall in Cranston, but
that is far from certain.
Valicenti did not challenge the Governor on his assertion, and easily falsifiable statement. Instead, he pivoted to an attack on ECHO Village, calling the project a boondoggle, that is, a wasteful or pointless project that gives the appearance of having value. Given the exceptional work that House of Hope CDC Executive Director Laura Jaworski has done on this project, Valicenti’s comment was both cruel and ignorant, a perfect summation of his entire career.
Here’s a transcript:
Gene Valicenti: Those Pallet Shelters -
Councilman Justin Roias1 -
who I very rarely agree with [and] I think you probably feel the same - I think
he’s right when he says you should execute a state of emergency and open those
Pallet Shelters tonight.
Governor Daniel McKee: First of all, you have to follow the rules
and regulations. Asphalt roads are being put in there. Water’s being connected
this week. You’ve got issues that have to do with the fire codes. Those Pallet
Shelters are going to open up a few months after we anticipated. But the work
that we’re doing in that space, [like the] 176 units are being built by
Crossroads that are going to be opened up. We purchased the Charles Nursing
Home, South Street Nursing Home, Southgate - over 200 people are going to be
serviced there. [The Governor was referring to the State’s purchase of
the Charlesgate Senior Living Center on North Main Street in
Providence.]
We have more beds today than we ever had in the State of Rhode Island. So yes,
[Echo Village] is a small piece of it, and it’s taken more time than we wanted
it to, but it’s going to open up.
But we have more beds today. In fact, all our beds are not even filled right
now.
Gene Valicenti: You have shelter beds, you’re saying, open tonight.
For anybody who’s homeless, there’s a bed for them tonight to stay warm. Are
you saying that?
Governor McKee: If the call is made, there are beds that are
available right now.
Gene Valicenti: You said you have a surplus of beds, in fact.
Governor McKee: Well, I’m told that one of the spaces, one of the
providers, is only up to 66%, and that was yesterday.
Gene Valicenti: Okay. In the meantime, the Pallet Shelters - look,
it’s a boondoggle, I got to tell you. Just because House of Hope asked for
millions, you gave it to them. Now look at this thing. Really, it’s a drag.
Governor McKee: We’re going to treat [ECHO Village] as a pilot.
I’ve been in contact with people in Delaware who are doing the same thing. They
seem to be having some success with it. But again, it’s a small piece of the
larger effort. I just want to make sure that people understand [that] the money
and the resources that we’re putting in right now for homelessness far exceeds
anything that was on the table before I was Governor of the State of Rhode
Island. And hundreds more shelter [bed]s have been opened up.
Like I said, Crossroads at 176, the Charlesgate over 200 - Look, the work is
being done, and it’s unfortunate that a delay on [ECHO Village] highlights it
in a way that we’re open to the criticism that we probably deserve on that
space. But there should be an acknowledgment of the work that’s being done in
that area.
Gene Valicenti: The Pallet Dhelter debacle aside, you’re saying
there’s a surplus of beds. If you want a bed, there’s one open tonight.
Governor McKee: What I’ve been told is that one of our providers is
only up to 66% of the capacity they can handle.
Here’s the Roias op-ed as released by the Providence City Council:
Councilor Justin Roias Calls on Governor McKee to Declare
a State of Emergency, Open ECHO Village
Four winters. That’s how long unhoused Providence residents
have been forced to sleep on icy streets since ECHO Village was first proposed. And now
the proven, ready-to-go solution sits empty. Forty-five warm units, fully
built, gathering dust here in the ward I represent.
From day one, this process has been met with delay after
delay. And while state leaders slog through unnecessarily burdensome regulatory
processes, the number of unhoused Rhode Islanders has
more than doubled. When this project was initially proposed, there were 1,267
unhoused Rhode Islanders. Now, as the cost of housing and the cost of living
has skyrocketed, there are 2,442. This is a matter of life and death. Last year
alone, 54 unsheltered Rhode Islanders lost their lives. Our neighbors need us.
House of Hope recognized the urgency
of this crisis and brought a solution to the table in 2019. Various locations
were attempted, and finally, one was chosen. Years after conception, the pallet
shelters were delivered and assembled in Ward 4, and March 2024 was set for the
opening. The Department of Housing, the General Assembly, and the Fire
Marshal’s Office had years to anticipate regulatory challenges, and yet here we
are.
New open dates came and went, and still nothing. Bureaucratic red tape has stood in the
way of saving lives, and the public has been left to wonder: are we
really doing everything we can to help the people who need it most?
Homelessness is a complicated issue. At its root are our
greatest struggles: stagnating wages, soaring housing costs, the opioid
epidemic, our failing education system, domestic violence, the mistreatment of
veterans, racism, and white supremacy. Long-term solutions that cut to the core
may be decades away, but the short-term doesn’t have to go this way. The
immediate way to get people off the streets is to put them in beds.
We need to stop ranking one life over another. Government
officials need to imagine it is our family members who are freezing on the
streets while beds sit empty just blocks away, and act with the urgency that
demands.
Providence City Council can serve as a model for this. Last
month, the council approved a new Comprehensive Plan, the 10-year road map that
guides land use. Under the leadership of Councilor Miguel Sanchez, we included
language that ensures the city institutes humane, housing-first solutions,
including temporary permits for emergency shelters, improved services to
encampments, increased mental health and substance use treatment, and the
development of permanent housing. The Comprehensive Plan commits the city to a
new direction on homelessness: one that keeps compassion and public health at
its center.
Last week, Governor McKee doubled down,
saying he’s unwilling to challenge remaining obstacles because “the safety
factor is the top priority.”
Is it safe to look the other way as people live in freezing
temperatures? Is it safe to leave families with no options as shelter waitlists
grow longer and longer? Is safety really being prioritized as the governor
stands idly by while 54 unhoused residents lose their lives in a single year?
The ECHO Village delays clearly represent the state’s
failure to recognize the housing crisis for what it is: an emergency.
Rents have skyrocketed across the state, and the pain is
felt viscerally here in Providence. Too many families are teetering on the edge
of homelessness, and for many, that edge has already given way. Housing is a
basic human right. And it’s long past time we treated it as such.
Governor McKee can end all of this right now, pulling people
off the streets and putting them in beds with a single stroke of his pen. He
can declare a state of emergency to cut through the red tape and open ECHO
Village immediately via executive order. It is the moral solution. People in
Providence are suffering, and they can’t wait any longer.
Every day of further delay is a choice — and the cost of
that choice is lives. Governor McKee, it’s time to act. Not next year. Not next
month. Not tomorrow. Today. You hold the pen. Use it. The people of Rhode
Island are watching.
City Councilor Justin Roias represents the North End of
Providence and works as a school social worker and licensed mental health
counselor. Roias is a member of the Providence Housing Authority.
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