WOONSOCKET – Did you feel the tremors when the Earth shook last week? A major seismic event occurred near midday on Wednesday, Oct. 2, one that promises to shake, rattle and roil the political foundations in Rhode Island.

The epicenter of the not-so-humble-rumble  occurred on the third floor of City Hall at 169 Main St., where Woonsocket’s city leaders – including the mayor, the police chief, and the human relations director – spoke at a news conference when the “Update Report” from the Woonsocket Community Partnership Task Force on Housing & Homelessness was released.

The 19-page document, written by Bruce Daigle, the former director of the Woonsocket Department of Human Services, laid out a comprehensive analysis of the current landscape confronting the city, a vision of the potential solutions, and insightful recommendations for the next steps in a plan of action. [See link to the “Update Report” below.]

The report represents one of the more comprehensive analyses of the homeless crisis afflicting Rhode Island, in ConvergenceRI’s opinion.

A change is going to come.  
Indeed, for all the millions of words spoken and written about homelessness and housing during the last four years in Rhode Island, the approach being now championed by the civic leaders in Woonsocket, as detailed in the “Update Report,” offers up a pathway toward hope.

It represents a 180-degree change in direction in the city’s approach from what occurred in January of 2023, when the former mayor chose to uproot a homelessness encampment, and the director of the city’s Department of Public Works, who took responsibility for ordering the dismantlement of the homeless encampment, seemed to place the blame for homelessness on community agencies, saying: “Maybe they should be doing better.” [See link below to ConvergenceRI story, “Shutting the front door – and the backdoor – on the dopesick and the homeless.”]

What happened?    
If you would like to watch a replay of the earth-shaking event that occurred on Oct. 2, reporter Steve Ahlquist’s recording of the news conference can provide the readers of ConvergenceRI with the historical record of who said what, capturing the conversation, much like an EKG measuring the heartbeat of a city in transition. [See link below to “Woonsocket – yes Woonsocket – unveils a terrific new Housing and Homelessness Report.”]

However, much of the rest of the news media in Rhode Island gave the release of the report and the news conference short shrift. There was no mention of it in either of the weekly political columns written by The Public Radio’s Ian Donnis or WPRI’s Ted Nesi. It did not appear to receive any mention on airtime by WPRO’s talk show host Dan Yorke [though Yorke did reveal to his drive-time audience on Friday that he was now recovering from his fifth bout with COVID, making him a likely candidate to be suffering from the effects of Long COVID].

The Woonsocket “Update Report” also did not make it into the political perusals of Boston Globecolumnist Dan McGowan. It was, however, featured in The Valley Breeze, with the story of the release of the “Update Report” the first of a promised four-part series.

Translated, the lack of coverage by the state’s news media political reporting honchos is a great example of what is wrong with the way that the current news narrative in Rhode Island is being written [take note, Phil Eil, as you compose your story about news innovators for Rhode Island Monthly].

The map is not the territory it represents    
ConvergenceRI attended the news conference on Wednesday, Oct. 2, which was scheduled for 11:30 a.m. In the days following the event, ConvergenceRI read and then re-read the document.

For ConvergenceRI, one of the most valuable sections in the report was the way it identified the misperceptions about homelessness and the homeless, under the heading: “What are the public misperceptions about those who are experiencing unsheltered homelessness and how can these misperceptions be addressed?”

[Editor’s Note: Here is an extended excerpt from the report, a valuable call-and-response, about the misperceptions – as well as presenting the facts to debunk such misperceptions. Given the way that the current Presidential election campaign being run by former President Trump has embraced and amplified these misperceptions, the Woonsocket report provides a valuable way to change the conversation.]

The public misperceptions about people experiencing homelessness, especially those who are unsheltered, that persist throughout our city, state and nation, include the following:

• All people who are homeless are addicts or suffering from profound mental illness. As noted above, some people experiencing homelessness suffer from one or both of these diseases, but they do not constitute all or even a majority of those who are homeless. It must be understood that homelessness itself can be a cause of addiction and mental illness (i.e., stress, anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts).
• The population of those who are homeless only comprises single adults. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, about 68 percent of homeless people are single adults. Just under 28 percent are families with children and about 5 percent are unaccompanied youth.
• Those who are homeless often refuse offers of appropriate assistance. Local and state agencies who provide direct services to those who are homeless report that very few people decline assistance; the vast majority are eager to ask for and receive assistance. For those who do decline help, it’s often because emergency or short-term shelters, where many people are grouped together in close quarters, often trigger high anxiety in those who are coping with trauma.
• They are dangerous. Nationally, those who are homeless rarely commit crimes of violence, and when they do it is usually perpetrated against other homeless individuals. More common nonviolent crimes, such as shoplifting, littering, loitering, and the use of illegal substances, are often the result of a lack of housing, desperation, addiction, mental illness and/or discouragement. But “around 14 percent to 21 percent of unhoused people are estimated to have been the victim of violence, compared with around 2 percent of the general population,” according to research in the journal Violence and Victims, as cited in a 2023 news report.
• They have somehow lost their human dignity and worth because of their circumstances. Most major world religions teach that human dignity is inherent to all people by the grace of God and cannot be erased. It is not a sin to be homeless and for the overwhelming majority of people who are homeless, it is not a choice either.

Moreover, many individuals and families who have been homeless have fought their way back, found appropriate housing and needed services, and successfully re-integrated into society.

• Their housing and homelessness issues would disappear if they would only “get a job.” A 2024 report by the Logan Center for Urban Investigative Reporting states that 40-60 percent of those who are homeless are employed at least part-time.

For the unemployed, problems in maintaining personal cleanliness and a permanent address, obtaining reliable transportation, coping with physical and mental health issues, acquiring proper identification and personal documents, getting proper sleep, receiving job training, and even purchasing and charging a cell phone are among the many obstacles to attaining a good paying, full-time job that will help lift those who are homeless out of their situation.

• Criminalizing homelessness is a solution to the problem. Camping bans, coerced treatment, and a “handcuffs instead of housing” approach, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, are ineffective and costly. Plus, imprisonment only makes it more difficult for those who are homeless to break out of the cycle of poverty, as a history of incarceration makes it harder to find employment and to be approved for housing.
• “Subsidized housing” is a handout that enables poverty, unemployment and addiction. Successful experiences in Houston and other communities show that providing affordable housing to those without housing – and without requiring certain conditions – is a proven first step toward getting people back on their feet.

Of course, this is providing that their housing is accompanied by the support services they need to heal and prosper (i.e., physical and mental health services, employment training, addiction therapies, etc.).

• Housing all those who are homeless is just too expensive.  A 2023 study in Massachusetts shows that the net savings to a community for housing each person who is homeless is about $10,500/year. This is largely due to the lower cost of housing when compared to the health care and public safety costs of attending to those who are homeless.

Putting housing first  
When it comes to proposed solutions, the well-researched report argues that Woonsocket should take a ‘housing first” approach.

Following its format of asking and then answering the questions posed, the “Update Report” gets right to the point.

It asked: “Have any communities in the country successfully addressed the issues of homelessness and the lack of affordable housing?

It then answered: “Yes. Houston, TX, [the fourth largest city in the country] moved more than 25,000 people who were homeless into apartments or homes in about a decade, and cut its unsheltered homeless population by more than 60 percent – from 8,500 to 3,200 – though most of that reduction was achieved in just five years. For the city’s homeless veterans, the wait for permanent housing was reduced from 720 days to just 32 days.”

The “Update Report” then cited a number of other cities that had successfully pursued a housing first strategy: “Newark, NJ, managed a 57 percent decline in its homeless population. In Chattanooga, TN, unsheltered homelessness is down 40 percent. Minneapolis’ chronic homelessness dropped 36 percent in two years. Vero Beach, FL, moved 33 percent of its homeless population into housing. San Diego, CA, decreased its homeless population by 19 percent.”

The “Update Report” then presented an overview of the successful “Housing First” strategy followed by Houston: “Essentially, Houston adopted a ‘Housing First’ plan of action that put housing and servicing the needs of the unsheltered homeless as its top priority. Generating more affordable housing units was another primary objective. Cooperation between agencies, local government, and the private sector, with one coordinating agency at the top, was also key.”

The “Update Report” then described how Houston’s “Housing First” strategy served as a model for other cities: “Houston’s plan of action has become a model for other cities. Because some of these cities saw less reduction of their homeless population than Houston, housing experts studied these differences. They concluded that the reasons for the lower reductions were the lack of coordination, energy, and/or resources that were applied to those plans.”

The “Update Report” then described the approach taken by several communities to build what was described as “cottage neighborhoods” of affordable small homes: “Several communities across the country, including in Louisiana, Michigan, Florida, and Tennessee, have begun constructing “cottage neighborhoods” of affordable small homes for low- and middle-income people.

“One such village, in Dover, NH, includes 44 homes, each only 384 square feet with a 160 square foot loft and 12 foot ceilings. These “tiny homes” are being constructed for the town’s service community: teachers, first-responders and caregivers, who make entry level salaries of $40,000 to $45,000 a year. The homes are rented to occupants at an average rate of $1,100 per month. Each house is designed to feel like a home, not an apartment; these houses may also be ideal as a ‘starter home’ or for someone looking to downsize.”

What comes next? An action plan.  
The next question the “Update Report” asks is: “What needs to happen to fully address the issues of affordable housing and homelessness in Woonsocket?”

The “Update Report” answers:

1. Adopting an overall community plan of action, based on Houston’s plan, that makes “housing first” the top priority. This means housing unsheltered homeless without requiring them to meet unrealistic conditions first, such as breaking an addiction or getting a job.
2. Establishing an ‘umbrella’ agency or organization, such as Houston’s Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County, to coordinate and streamline efforts among existing local agencies who provide housing and serve the homeless population.
3. Providing and staffing more short- and mid-term shelter spaces with onsite ‘navigation centers’ that provide support services to connect these people with life-skills instruction, job training, education, medical and mental health services, SNAP, job applications, etc.

What the “Update Report” then does is to connect the data with the need, detailing what shelter space is available currently in Woonsocket, which make clear that the existing programs are not sufficient to meet the current need for short- and mid-term shelter.

•    The Community Care Alliance [CCA] currently operates a shelter program in the city for families, couples, and single-parents with children, which currently houses 55 people – 26 adults and 29 children – in two buildings with office space for support services.
•    CCA also operates a short- and mid-term shelter program for families and individuals in a motel building with 48 units on Rt. 116 in Smithfield. This site shelters more than 100 individuals and families, but the wait list is long. State funding for the staffing and rental costs of this program has been extended through 2025.
•    Woonsocket’s Harvest Community Church provides 18 overnight beds for single adult males from November to April each year.

4. Constructing new affordable housing for ownership and rent. There are currently 3,052 deed-restricted affordable housing units in Woonsocket, according to the “Update Report.” Due to zoning and permitting obstacles, a lack of incentives for contractors and developers, and low profit margins in affordable and multi-family home construction, Rhode Island produces less new housing than any state in the country. Consequently, the construction of affordable housing, including ‘starter homes’ and apartments, also lags behind, especially in higher income suburban communities.

How many folks are homeless in Woonsocket?    
The “Update Report” begins its story with an attempt to quantify the number of people who are homeless in Woonsocket.

“Though the numbers constantly fluctuate, local agencies report that there are at least 60 people experiencing unsheltered homelessness currently living on the city’s streets and about 160 people in short- and mid-term shelters, with long wait lists,” according to the report. “Though Woonsocket’s population accounts for only 4 percent of the state’s population, we have about 10 percent of the state’s unsheltered homeless population and 10 percent of all those in emergency shelters [not including the wait lists]. There has been a 35 percent increase in the city’s homeless population from last year.”

The “Update Report” continues: “There are also hundreds of individuals and families without housing of their own who have found temporary housing with family members, friends, co-workers, etc. They often spend a few days, weeks, or months sleeping on couches, in basements, and other ad hoc arrangements before moving on to another place. In addition, thousands more families and individuals in the city are on the brink of homelessness – only a health crisis, job loss, or unexpected expense away from losing their home or apartment. Their vulnerability presents a crisis for the entire community.”

On the streets in Woonsocket    
Walking back to my car from the news conference, the streets of Woonsocket presented a study in contrasts. Workers from the city’s highway department were busy placing flowers and cornstalks in a park adjacent to City Hall in an attempt to spruce up the city streets in advance of Autumn Fest, while an elderly woman in a wheelchair plaintively asked me for money. A middle-aged man raised his arms toward the sun, offering up a kind of “sun salute,” lost in his own moment of prayerfulness, as I made my way past the Josephine Byrd building, named after a Black woman and civil rights activist, in a ceremony held in July of 2023. [See link below to ConvergenceRI story, “A true community hero is honored in Woonsocket.”] Students with backpacks moved quickly past me on their way to a local high school, while an ambulance headed in another direction with lights flashing but no siren.