Karen Santilli | CEO and president, Crossroads Rhode Island
1. You’ve been urging the state to establish a permanent funding stream for housing. Has coronavirus-related revenue loss delayed lawmakers’ plans to do so? Not that I’ve heard. Undoubtedly, the state’s going to face a significant budget challenge as we come out of this, but it’s even more important now than before COVID-19 that the administration and General Assembly work together to preserve the proposed funding for housing and consider reforms to the original proposal that create more opportunity and flexibility for investments in low-income and no-income housing.
2. Are there any unique challenges in efforts to keep homeless and at-risk people safe from the virus? Individuals and families experiencing homelessness are at an increased risk of COVID-19. Many already suffer from multiple chronic health and mental health conditions, and have weakened immune systems and limited access to health care. It’s also very difficult to adhere to recommendations to stay home and wash your hands if you are homeless. That’s why access to affordable and safe housing is so important.
3. What measures are being taken to protect Crossroads residents from COVID-19? Because people experiencing homelessness are so vulnerable to infection, Crossroads has been proactively implementing the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s] recommendations on how to best protect our residents’ and clients’ health and safety. Those steps include increasing our cleaning and sanitizing protocols, practicing social distancing and doing presumptive screening. We’ve also suspended nonessential visits to a number of our facilities.
4. What is the most important thing the state could do to help homeless Rhode Islanders? Housing is the only known solution to homelessness. That’s why we and other housing advocates have continued to encourage the state to set up a permanent funding stream for housing and to create more housing that people with no income or very low income can afford.
5. You have told the General Assembly that our state stands on the cusp of a housing crisis. How much affordable housing is needed right now? We need housing at nearly every level. It’s mission-critical if we’re going to bounce back economically from COVID-19. To put the crisis in perspective: there is [a] 2% vacancy rate in Providence. That increases rent and creates barriers. Even with enough funding for subsidies and supports, if there aren’t units available, we can’t deliver the kind of permanent housing solutions people need.
