Unsheltered homelessness in Rhode Island has surged nearly 400% over the last five years. In my 30 years of working in housing and homeless services, I have never seen the levels of homelessness that we are seeing today.
Before the pandemic, Rhode Island had one of the lowest rates of unsheltered homelessness in the country. Today, tent encampments are increasingly popping up in wooded areas, under bridges and alongside busy roadways as more and more desperate people are priced out of their housing.
According to the latest Point-in-Time Count, an annual census of the number of people experiencing homelessness, 524 men, women and children in the area were living in places unfit for human habitation in January of this year, up from about 100 in 2020.
To meet the immediate need, Crossroads Rhode Island currently operates five temporary emergency shelters with more than 250 shelter beds, including the state’s largest men’s shelter and shelters for women, families, domestic violence survivors and couples. While shelters play a critical role in Rhode Island’s homelessness response system, it’s important to keep in mind that people staying at a shelter are still homeless.
Housing is the only solution for ending homelessness. That’s why as part of our longer-term efforts to address rising homelessness, Crossroads is currently creating 300 affordable permanent supportive apartments in Providence.
When complete in the fall of 2025, Crossroads’ Summer Street Apartments will provide 176 formerly homeless adults with a beautiful one-bedroom apartment. Later this fall, we will break ground on 371 Pine St., a 35-unit permanent supportive apartment building for medically vulnerable adults experiencing homelessness. A complete renovation of our Travelers Aid Housing is also in the works, adding more than 80 new and affordable one-bedroom and studio permanent supportive apartments to the state’s housing stock.
Unfortunately, these efforts will not be enough.
An independent report commissioned by the Rhode Island Foundation last year cited Rhode Island’s near-bottom ranking in housing construction as a leading contributor to the state’s housing and homelessness crisis. Rhode Island is nearly 25,000 affordable housing units below demand, highlighting the urgent need for increased construction to address the growing shortage.
We can and must do better.
That’s why this November, I urge Rhode Islanders to join the fight against homelessness and the rising cost of housing by voting in support of Question 3 on the $120 million housing and community opportunity bond that will appear on the ballot. A “yes” vote will allow for more state-level investment in safe, permanent housing for Rhode Islanders who are homeless, including homeless families with children and working adults who cannot afford a place to live.
When we invest in housing, we invest in each other and provide every Rhode Islander with dignity, stability and hope for a brighter future. Vote yes on Question 3. n
Michelle Wilcox is CEO and president of Crossroads Rhode Island, the state’s leading provider of housing and services to the homeless.
