Douglas Matthews of Roslindale, MA, devoted family man, inspiring teacher and advocate for social and economic justice, passed away February 11, just three days after his sixty-third birthday, following a long illness.  Doug worked in Rhode Island in the 1980s at the Coalition for Consumer Justice (CCJ) and Workers Association for Guaranteed Employment (WAGE).  He is well remembered by his many friends in RI as an impassioned community organizer and canvass director and as a generous sharer of his extensive knowledge of political theory – including feminist theory, music, books, movies and life-experiences.

While in Providence, Doug met the love of his life and future wife, Sarah Lamitie.  After marrying in 1988, they settled in Boston and raised two children: Claire Lamitie and Finley Matthews – both now in college.  A natural educator, at the age of 40, Doug transitioned from community organizing to teaching school – primarily at Attleboro High School where he taught social studies for the last 18 years.  He was known for teaching current global affairs so his students would always be informed about the world around them.  He created courses on topics such as Islam and global conflict and brought guest speakers into his classes from all ends of the spectrum.  He was the long-time advisor to many student clubs including: Amnesty International, environmental clubs, the Gay Straight Alliance and Model U.N.

Because of his flexible teacher’s schedule, Doug was deeply involved in his children’s lives, a role he relished.  He was a consistent support and presence in their lives.  Doug will be sorely missed by his family, friends, neighbors and colleagues alike who came to know him and his loving, gentle nature, good humor, patience, deeply principled and joyful approach to life.

A memorial service is planned for March 26, 2016 at 2:00 p.m. at Theodore Parker Unitarian Church, 1859 Centre Street, West Roxbury, MA.  Donations in Doug’s memory may be made to Attleboro High School in support of the Model UN Program (508-222-5150); Roxbury Youthworks, Inc (www.roxburyyouthworks.org), or Heifer International (www.heifer.org).

Advocates for the homeless have been critical of a seemingly aggressive enforcement by the City of laws that target innocuous activity of the homeless in public. In its letter, the ACLU had noted that the City’s ban on so-called “aggressive solicitation” directly targets the homeless, and that a number of similar ordinances have been recently struck down by the courts for infringing on First Amendment rights. The ACLU therefore requested that the City immediately halt its enforcement. In response, the City agreed to that request and also to terminate any pending prosecutions.

“The Mayor remains committed to making Providence a place that supports its residents, especially those who are most in need, and we look forward to our continued work together in this regard,” Providence City Solicitor Jeffrey Dana stated in a letter to the ACLU of RI.

ACLU of Rhode Island executive director Steven Brown said today: “This is a very positive development, and we applaud the City for recognizing that this ordinance cannot withstand constitutional scrutiny. We are confident that officials will make sure that any harassment of the homeless by police for peacefully soliciting donations, even if it doesn’t lead to an arrest for panhandling, will cease.”

Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless executive director Jim Ryczek added: “The Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless welcomes this development on the part of the city.  We hope this is the first step in better understanding homeless people and working with them to appropriately identify their needs and acquire safe and affordable housing.  We look forward to continued progress on other problems facing the city in relation to its homeless citizens. As always, we stand ready to help the City of Providence better serve its homeless constituents.”

Megan Smith, an outreach worker at House of Hope CDC, said: “We are hopeful that Providence’s decision to halt enforcement of the aggressive solicitation ordinance demonstrates that the City recognizes panhandling for what it is: a means of survival for our poor and homeless neighbors, not a criminal activity. While there is much more work that must be done to shift policy from criminalizing poverty to finding collaborative solutions, this represents an important step forward.”

The ACLU letter had also called on the City to repeal an ordinance that bans “loitering on bus line property,” but the City claimed that no arrests had been made under that law.

The ACLU’s action is part of the organization’s ongoing efforts to challenge and repeal laws that disproportionately affect the rights of the homeless. In December, the ACLU of Rhode Island filed a federal lawsuit challenging a Cranston ordinance that bars the solicitation of donations from motorists. The ACLU argues that the ordinance violates free speech rights and is selectively enforced by the City. That suit is pending.

A copy of the ACLU’s letter is available here.

A copy of the City’s letter is available here.

Back in August 2015, advocates held a rally in front of City Hall protesting the treatment of  those experiencing homelessness in the city. They had found that with increasing frequency,  people experiencing homelessness were being subjected to judicial and extrajudicial arrest,  harassment, and discrimination. Additionally, they contended that individuals who were homeless were being treated as criminals for engaging in activities necessary to survival,  foremost among them resting and sleeping.

Soon after the rally, in September, Mayor Jorge Elorza met with the advocates and declared  that the harassment and discrimination happening was not in line with his Administration’s  policy. At that time advocates asked him to make a public statement expressing that and to  focus on solutions to homelessness rather than criminalizing the homeless. Fast-forward to  now, four months later, and nothing has come out of the Mayor’s office.

To make matters worse for the Mayor’s office, advocates released results of a public spaces  survey which show a clear and disturbing pattern of discrimination against those  experiencing homelessness in downtown Providence.

“As an outreach worker I have both heard, and personally witnessed this kind of conduct, and it disgusts and enrages me,” said Megan Smith of House of Hope CDC.

“Essentially, only homeless people and formerly homeless people are being arrested for these activities,” said Dr. Eric Hirsch. The activities include, sitting, panhandling, standing, sleeping and talking, all of which are perfectly legal.

Eileen Boarman was homeless in Providence on and off for over two years. She has personally witnessed and been the victim of police harassment and abuse. She talks of being beaten, spray with water hoses, and having her arm twisted. She was treated as having no value and no rights. Her experiences are impossible to justify.

Several years ago, Providence City Councillor Mary Kay Harris and others spearheaded the creation of the Providence External Review Authority (PERA), a civilian lead police oversight board. In light of Dr. Hirsch’s findings, the re-establishment of this board in a must.

We need, says House of Hope CDC outreach worker Kate Miechkowski, “to address the cause of people having nowhere to go and nowhere to sleep, rather than arresting and harassing those who suffer from the effects of our failed economic policies.”

In November, Providence College students conducted a public spaces survey of random  pedestrians in the Kennedy Plaza/Burnside Park areas of downtown Providence. The results  were striking. Just over half (52%) of those surveyed were homeless or formerly homeless,  but 95% of the citations and 94% of the arrests were experienced by homeless and  formerly homeless persons.

Answers to other questions on the survey such as whether law enforcement had asked them  to “move on” or to leave a particular area, how often they were asked for identification; and  how often law enforcement searched their belongings without their permission show the  same pattern of disproportionate harassment of homeless and formerly homeless persons by  police. Other potential reasons for such targeting such as race, ethnicity, or age were not  found to be relevant.

“It was stunning to see the degree to which homeless Rhode Islanders are subject to  harassment by the Providence Police Department,” stated Dr. Eric Hirsch, Professor of  Sociology and author of the Public Spaces Survey. “It was the only factor relevant to why  someone was ticketed or arrested for everyday activities such as sitting, lying down, etc.”

Kate Miechkowski, Outreach Worker for the House of Hope CDC confirmed the findings of  the survey stating, “This past summer and fall I had the opportunity to interview dozens of  people experiencing homelessness about their interactions with Providence police officers. I  was horrified by their experiences of degradation, humiliation, and blatant profiling. There  was almost no one I spoke to who had amiable experiences with police officers. I personally  witnessed multiple incidents in which people were told that they had to move for doing  nothing except occupying a public sidewalk.”

Advocates point to the fact that Rhode Island was the first state in the country to enact a  “Homeless Bill of Rights” formally banning discrimination against Rhode Islanders  experiencing homelessness and affirming their equal access to housing, employment and  public services and believe the police’s targeting of people based on their housing status is  illegal.

The Rhode Island law asserts that Rhode Islanders experiencing homelessness have the right  to use public parks, public transportation and public buildings, “in the same manner as any  other person and without discrimination on the basis of his or her housing status.”

In the original letter to the Mayor, advocates stated:

Criminalization is not a solution to homelessness. It is incredibly cruel to those  experiencing homelessness, dehumanizing the individuals and making it harder to connect to  advocates and services. It also costs the system more by spending taxpayer dollars on court  costs and incarcerations rather than on housing, medical care, and other long-term solutions.

The group asked the Mayor to implement the following action steps to address the current  situation:

1. Instruct the Providence Police Department that they may not order people to move  from public property, nor threaten arrest for the failure to move, absent reasonable  suspicion that they are committing a crime.

2. Ensure that this order is followed by:

a. Re-establishing the Providence External Review Authority (PERA);
b. Establishing a designated hotline to report harassment or illegal arrest and  regularly reporting on calls received;
c. Adding content on Rhode Island’s Homeless Bill of Rights to the training  police cadets receive at the Academy and incorporating this material into re-training of current officers.

3. Provide an appropriate location and budget for a day center in the City.

4. Publicly support the hundred million-dollar bond ask and ensure that the City’s  programs to rehabilitate vacant homes (such as Every Home) results in apartments  that are affordable to very low income renters.

Nationally, there is increasing recognition of the need for cities to shift away from criminalization and toward a right to housing. In its report No Safe Place, the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty details the ways in which criminalizing ordinances are  damaging both to individuals experiencing homelessness and to the cities that enact them. It  also found that, despite a lack of affordable housing and shelter space, cities across the  country are essentially making it illegal to be homeless with laws that outlaw life-sustaining  acts, such as eating and sleeping, in public spaces.

Key findings/conclusions from the report are:

• Homeless people are criminally punished for being in public even when they have no  other alternatives;
• The criminalization of homelessness is increasing across the country;
• Criminalization laws violate the civil and human rights of homeless people;
• Criminalization laws are costly to taxpayers;
• Criminalization laws are ineffective; and
• Criminalization laws should be replaced with constructive solutions to ending  homelessness.

The Seattle University School of Law recently published a series of briefs exploring the  monetary costs of criminalization and placing these laws squarely within the shameful  tradition of Jim Crow, Anti-Okie, and Ugly laws. Earlier this summer, the U.S. Department of  Justice filed a Statement of Interest arguing that it unconstitutionally punishes homelessness to make it a crime for people to sleep in public when there is insufficient shelter.

Rhode Island’s Homeless Bill of Rights stands in complete contrast to this trend causing advocates to be dismayed by the growing complaints from those experiencing homelessness  that the police are not respecting their rights.

The Homeless Bill of Rights sets an important foundation for Opening Doors Rhode Island,  the state’s plan to end homelessness, which states as a core value that “there are  no ‘homeless people,’ but rather people who have lost their homes who deserve to be treated  with dignity and respect.”

Opening Doors Rhode Island outlines a plan that significantly transforms the provision of  services to Rhode Islanders experiencing homelessness. Consistent with the new federal plan  to end homelessness, the plan seeks to sharply decrease the numbers of people experiencing  homelessness and the length of time people spend homeless.

“Rhode Island has the potential to be a model for how to end homelessness,” concluded  Megan Smith, Outreach Worker for House of Hope CDC. “We can do this by collaborating  to provide safe, affordable, permanent housing and engaging with and educating our  community. It is not done by harassing and further marginalizing our city’s most vulnerable  neighbors.”

Mayor Elorza was invited to speak at the rally, but declined. His office issued the following statement:

“The Mayor is committed to working with our service providers, advocates and community partners to address the social and economic challenges these resident face. We have spoken previously with the Chief of Police and he has directed his officers not to target those who are struggling with homelessness.”

[Portions of this are from a joint RICH and RIHAP press release]

Doug Hall, Director of Economic and Fiscal Policy at the Economic Progress Institute isn’t surprised by these findings: “We see the economic vulnerability of Rhode Island families in wage and income data (as shown in our recent State of Working Rhode Island: Workers of Color report). Until Rhode Islanders have good jobs that pay economy-boosting wages, they won’t be able to set aside savings or invest in homes or businesses.”

Across five main issue areas, Rhode Island fares in the middle of the pack in four issue areas (Financial Assets and Income, Businesses and Jobs, Education, and Health Care) but nearly dead last for Housing and Homeownership.

Rhode Island’s outcome indicators point to a number of areas where improvements need to be made to improve the financial security of Ocean State families. Rhode Island scores very poorly (40^th or worse) in 14 areas, including 8 indicators for housing/homeownership:

• Income inequality (46^th out of 50 states and the District of Columbia)
• Business value by race (44^th)
• Underemployment Rate (40^th)
• Homeownership rate (46^th)
• Homeownership by race (50^th)
• Homeownership by income (51^st)
• Homeownership by family structure (50^th)
• Delinquent mortgage loans (49^th)
• Affordability of homes (43^rd)
• Housing cost burden – homeowners (46^th)
• Housing cost burden – renters (45^th)
• Uninsured by race (45^th)
• Uninsured by gender (49^th)
• Average college student debt (46^th)

While Rhode Island’s poor performance on housing/homeownership outcomes in the Assets and Opportunities Scorecard is not new, it is striking. Jim Ryczek, Executive Director of the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless responds:

“While Rhode Island clearly has much work to do to meet the state’s housing needs, we have significantly increased funding of programs to solve homelessness. We need to match that progress with investments that provide housing options for all Rhode Islanders.”

It is also noteworthy that Rhode Island falls in the bottom 11 rankings in three of the six outcome measures that look at disparities by race/ethnicity. National data show stark disparities in wealth based on race and ethnicity. We know that here in Rhode Island, racial disparities in wages and income are significant. The lack of good state-based data on wealth prevents us from fully understanding these disparities, which in turn prevents us from addressing the challenges with the necessary urgency. Another new report released last week by the Annie E Casey Foundation addresses the need for better data:

“To properly gauge the effects of policies and practices on families’ ability to build assets, we must have the right tools. Data on family assets are meager and difficult to access, particularly for various racial and ethnic groups. The federal government should explore better mechanisms to track that information, such as representative surveys for national and state use with questions on savings behavior and asset holdings or additional questions in the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.” Annie E Casey Foundation, Investing in Tomorrow: Helping Families Build Savings and Assets

CFED has been publishing the Asset and Opportunities Scorecard since 2002. It remains a key benchmark in tracking important policy and outcome measures, and highlighting best practices in state policies addressing these areas.

Key policies that Rhode Islanders can adopt to provide greater opportunities for Rhode Island families include:

• Increasing the state Earned Income Tax Credit to 20 percent of the federal credit.
• Further Increasing the minimum wage.
• Providing protections from predatory lending such as payday loans.

These and other measures that boost family incomes will help families set aside savings while investing in assets such as a home.

[From a press release]

Kerry Soares died homeless on the streets of Providence in June, not far from the Salvation Army building. She was 43 years old. Kerry was the ninth homeless person to die on the streets in Rhode Island since April 2014, when the RI Coalition for the Homeless (RICH) and its Statewide Outreach Committee began holding vigils.

A RICH press release states that “while the official cause of deaths for the cases vary, advocates contend that the real killer in all the nine cases is the same: homelessness.”

Kerry was a mother. Her daughter Caitlin Forcier was at the vigil. Kerry was remembered as a talented artist. She was compassionate and caring. She lived and worked in Providence most of her life.

She deserved so much more.

Author James O’Connell, M.D., noted the relationship between homelessness and early mortality. Studies reveal:

• People who experience homelessness have a mortality rate three to four times that of the general population
• The average age at death of a person who is homeless is between 42 and 52 years
• Younger women who are homeless have a mortality rate that is 4 to 31 times higher than that of women who are housed.

In a statement, Jim Ryczek, executive director of RICH said, “This is the ninth Rhode Islander experiencing homeless, who has died on the streets in a year and a half. And the biggest tragedy is these deaths can be prevented. We know how to tackle these problems of homelessness, addiction, substance abuse – we know what to do, we have the models, and we need to continue to build the public and political will to demand that we implement and fund the solutions fully.”

The new statute, passed overwhelmingly in the Rhode Island House of Representatives under the leadership of Speaker Nicholas Mattiello, is unconstitutional on three grounds, says Attorney John MacDonald, who filed the suit with Attorney Lynette Labringer today.

The statute is unconstitutionally vague, says MacDonald, with no definition of what constitutes a school in the law. Further, there are no guidelines offered as to how to measure the 1000 feet required under the mandate. Different law enforcement agencies use different systems operating under different parameters. A resident might be told he is safe by one agency, only to be ordered to move by another.

The law is unconstitutional because it violates due process. Level 3 sex offenders are banished from their property and their liberty under this statute, says MacDonald, and they have no recourse to a hearing unless they want to be arrested and charged in violation of the law.

The third constitutional violation occurs because under this statute, people who have already paid for their crimes are being further punished in having to move under threat of arrest.

The statute does not increase public safety, says MacDonald, and the homeless advocates in attendance at the press conference all agreed with this assessment. It is better to know where level 3 sex offenders are living, “but we have uprooted them and sent them to Harrington Hall, the only place that can house them.”

Jim Ryczek, who heads up the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless (RICH), is in full support of the lawsuit. “We are proud to have helped keep communities safe,” said Ryczek, adding that the three factors that keep people from re-offending are stable housing, employment and treatment. The law, if it is allowed to stand, threatens all three of these factors.

Not only is there no evidence that this law might help Rhode Islanders, this law “may have an opposite effect” says Ryczek.

Sol Rodriguez, executive director of OpenDoors, read her statement, saying, “People affected are being forced out of their apartments; some are homeowners, have families, are sick, disabled, and some live in nursing homes. Some are family caretakers. They have served the sentence imposed for their crimes and are known to law enforcement due to sex offender registry laws. This law will further destabilize this population.”

Jean M. Johnson is executive director of House of Hope CDC which manages Harrington Hall. Presently, this is the only facility that can house homeless, level 3 sex offenders in the state. During Wednesday night’s rain storm, “160 gentlemen inhabited Harrington Hall,” she said, “we are a 120 bed facility. We have always had level 1, 2 and 3 offenders stay with us. We are the shelter of last resort, we don’t turn anyone away.”

On Monday night, when the law is to be in full effect, 30 level 3 sex offenders could show up at Harrington Hall, in Speaker Mattiello’s district.

The new law, says Johnson, is “unjust and unfair.”

Beyond the issues of constitutionality and public safety, says Steve Brown, executive director of the RI ACLU, the law makes no sense. Many level 3 sex offenders were convicted for crimes against adults, and against adults they knew personally. These men are presently allowed to travel near and be around schools, but under the law are not allowed to keep in an apartment near a school, when the schools are empty.

As far as simply finding an apartment elsewhere, this is not really an option, said Jim Ryczek. Many landlords will not rent to a level 3 sex offender. Finding an affordable location that satisfies the 1000 feet limit in the amount of time available is all but impossible.

In Providence, 30 men have been told that they will have to move. A reporter at the press conference said that Speaker Mattiello was “getting pressure” to address the situation at Harrington Hall, but Jean Johnson said that no one from the Speaker’s office has reached out to her.

More information is available here.

This time 29 people spoke out against the fare hikes. Some were speaking out for themselves, as affected riders, others were there to advocate for the people they serve.

“Our constituents literally have no money,” said Lee Ann Byrne, policy director at Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless. She noted that 53 percent of Rhode Island’s homeless population are disabled.

Willa Truelove, of the State Rehabilitation Council, pointed out that it is “about to be really cold” which will create mobility issues for people who would normally use the bus to travel. These people, says Truelove, “cannot afford to pay another dime.”

But the most contentious moment of the afternoon was during the testimony of William Flynn, executive director of the Senior Agenda Coalition of RI. It was at this moment that a seemingly exasperated Mayor Scott Avedisian, the head of RIPTA’s board, interrupted Flynn to “clarify” the issue at hand.

Flynn was making the point that lack of access to affordable transportation will strand seniors at home, leading to disastrous health outcomes for seniors and greater costs to Medicare. Theses are the certain results of the actions the board takes today, said Flynn. Avedisian interrupted, (at the 1m 10s mark below) insisting that the issue was not up for a vote today, and that the decision has not been made.

Avedisian insisted that today’s vote was, “the beginning of a public hearing process” but as the later discussion made clear, the public hearing process and subsequent vote to raise fares is all but inevitable. There are no plans under consideration that do not include fare increases, and if the board does not increase fares there are no alternative revenue streams to balance their $6 million shortfall.

RIPTA will shortly announce a series of ten public hearings throughout the state to take place in the evening and afternoons. After the hearings RIPTA hopes for a vote sometime in December and for the fare increase to be in place by February.

Reverend Donald Anderson, representing the Interfaith Coalition to Reduce Poverty, asked the board to take a stand against the idea of balancing budgets on the backs of the most vulnerable. While acknowledging the fact that RIPTA’s budgetary woes are entirely due to the General Assembly’s lack of support for RIPTA, he maintained that a vote against beginning the process that will inevitably lead to raising the rates on seniors and the disabled might set a moral example for other boards throughout the state.

Despite Anderson’s plea, the entire board voted to proceed.

Though the fare increase on seniors and disabled riders seems inevitable, as Randall Rose, a member of the RIPTA Riders Alliance pointed out, this outrage can be defeated if enough people raise the issue and fight against it.

This meeting easily doubled the number of people who turned out against the fare increase last time. As awareness of this issue grows and media outside of RI Future start to cover this, opposition will grow as well. Further, we are entering an election year. Members of the General Assembly will begin their bi-annual treks to elderly housing complexes searching for votes. You can be sure that these voters will be wondering why their fixed incomes are being mined o pay for previously free services.

You can also be sure that RI taxpayers will be wondering why RIPTA is being forced to take actions that will result in soaring Medicaid and Medicare costs. As seniors and disabled riders are forced to choose between transportation and medication, or cut down on the essential transportation that keeps them socially engaged and healthy, taxpayers will be footing the bill.

It is far cheaper to provide free transportation than it is to provide round the clock nursing care.

Below is the testimony of all twenty-nine people to speak against the fare hikes.

The ACLU of RI is honoring the Coalition and Ms. Smith  for their unyielding advocacy for the civil rights and liberties of individuals experience homelessness, and for the invaluable support and resources they provide. The RI Coalition for the Homeless works to promote and preserve the dignity and quality of life for men, women, and children by pursuing comprehensive and cooperative solutions to the problems of housing and homelessness. Ms. Smith is an outreach worker and case manager with PATH, a program of the House of Hope CDC that works primarily with individuals experiencing street homelessness. Both are also tireless advocates for policies and reforms that affirm the rights of the homeless and protect individuals experiencing homelessness from discrimination.

ACLU supporters will mix, mingle, and enjoy hors d’oeuvres and cocktails while they celebrate the civil liberties successes of the past year and recognize the hard work of these two honorees dedicated to protecting the rights of the homeless.

ACLU of RI volunteer attorneys Sonja Deyoe, Carly Iafrate, and Neal McNamara will also provide updates on their ongoing and important court cases.

Celebrate your rights and freedoms, honor the RI Coalition for the Homeless and Ms. Smith, and support the ACLU of Rhode Island by purchasing your ticket today!

Tickets for the evening are $65 and are available for purchase online or by calling the ACLU office (401-831-7171). RSVP by October 14.

COCKTAILS & CONVERSATION

ACLU of Rhode Island’s Annual Meeting Celebration

Thursday, October 22 at 6 P.M.

(Registration begins at 5:30 P.M.)

Providence Biltmore

11 Dorrance St., Providence, RI 02903

Complimentary valet parking provided to all guests.

According to the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless (RICH), “On Thursday, August 13th, Shannah Kurland, a community lawyer and activist, was arrested in front of the CVS located at 70 Kennedy Plaza. Witnesses state that Kurland was simply standing on the sidewalk near the CVS and clearly not blocking the entrance.”

The police officers told Kurland that she was in violation of “failure to move,” a non-existent offense with “no legal basis in city ordinance or state statute,” that is often used to threaten and harass homeless people, according to RICH. When Kurland explained that there was no such law, she was arrested

Protesters carried signs and defiantly committed the same “crime” as Kurland, standing in front of CVS, and refusing to move. “Advocates contend that with increasing frequency, people experiencing homelessness are being subjected to judicial and extrajudicial arrest, harassment, and discrimination,” said RICH in a press release, “Individuals who are homeless have been treated as criminals for engaging in activities necessary to survival, foremost among them resting and sleeping.”

One sign simply read, “Legalize Sleep.”

“We are sick of the harassment,” exclaimed Barbara Kalil, Co-Director of the RI Homeless Advocacy Project (RIHAP). “People are being targeted simply because of their housing status. Not only is that unacceptable, it is illegal!”

Kalil lead a delegation into City Hall to present a letter to Mayor Jorge Elorza demanding a meeting to discuss the issues by September 4th and that the Providence Police be immediately instructed “to stop their practice of criminalizing homelessness and harassing homeless individuals” both downtown and in other city neighborhoods.

In addition, RICH and RIHAP demanded a “commitment on behalf of the city to provide resources for a permanent, accessible day center” and a “promise from the city to advocate for more permanent housing vouchers and identified units.”

Earlier in the day, a homeless constituent encountered two police officers “who told him that they know about the rally this afternoon and there will be many police officers there ready to arrest anybody who obstructs the sidewalk,” said Karen Jeffries of RICH in an email. According to the constituent, the police officers said, “We have Paddy wagons and many handcuffs ready to go.”

The police were in fact ready with plastic handcuffs hanging from their belts and two “paddy wagons” parked on the opposite side of Kennedy Plaza. During the protest the police made a large show of force that included at least one officer videotaping the crowd, for reasons that are unclear. The Providence Police are often videotaping crowds at such events, but do not seem to have any policies in place regarding the use of such video.

Shannah Kurland is the lawyer for Manny Pombo, a street musician suing the city of Providence for harassment, and John Prince, who was attacked by police in his own home for videotaping them from his yard. Kurland is also involved in her own lawsuit against the city of Providence for violating her free speech rights last year at a fundraiser in Roger Williams Park for then-Gubernatorial candidate, and now Governor, Gina Raimondo. Kurland is also legal counsel to five local Ferguson activists charged with trespassing for shutting down Interstate 95.

RICH drew attention to a report from the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, which “details the ways in which criminalizing ordinances are damaging both to individuals experiencing homelessness and to the cities that enact them. It also found that, despite a lack of affordable housing and shelter space, cities across the country are essentially making it illegal to be homeless with laws that outlaw life-sustaining acts, such as eating and sleeping, in public spaces.”

Key findings/conclusions from the report are:

-Homeless people are criminally punished for being in public even when they have no other alternatives;
-The criminalization of homelessness is increasing across the country;
-Criminalization laws violate the civil and human rights of homeless people;
-Criminalization laws are costly to taxpayers;
-Criminalization laws are ineffective;
-Criminalization laws should be replaced with constructive solutions to ending homelessness.

RI famously passed a “Homeless Bill of Rights” in 2012 with the intent of preventing, according to Sam Howard, in a piece written for RI Future at the time, “harassment or discrimination towards homeless people. This means kicking people off of park benches or out of libraries when they’re not doing anything wrong. It means that when someone applies for a job, the fact that their mailing address is listed as a shelter can’t be used as a reason to reject them. It means that a homeless person can’t have their stuff seized or searched if they’re not causing trouble. Basically, if the Governor signs this, it’s now a little bit easier for the homeless to enjoy all the little niceties of public life.”

The Homeless Bill of Rights set an important foundation for Opening Doors Rhode Island, the state’s plan to end homelessness, which states as a core value that “there are no ‘homeless people,’ but rather people who have lost their homes who deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.”

According to RICH, “Opening Doors Rhode Island outlines a plan that significantly transforms the provision of services to Rhode Islanders experiencing homelessness. Consistent with the new federal plan to end homelessness, the plan seeks to sharply decrease the numbers of people experiencing homelessness and the length of time people spend homeless.”

“The path to ending homelessness starts with treating those experiencing homelessness with basic dignity and respect, plain and simple,” added Kalil.

Michael was homeless, and according to those who knew him, and wrestled with addiction. But more importantly, Michael was a husband, a father, a grandfather and a friend. One man spoke of how Michael never sought help for himself, but always encouraged those around him to seek help and better their lives.

Michael’s daughters, Candace and Rebecca, treasured their father. His grandchildren, three irrepressible boys full of energy and curiosity (and let’s face it, a little bored with much of the vigil) were rays of sunshine as the rain and the night arrived. Candace spoke movingly of her father.

It was a beautiful, touching service. Newport Officer Jimmy Winters provided the music, as he has done at all these vigils since they began. He received a reward from Street Sights, a homeless advocacy newspaper, for his service. The Reverend Linda Watkins, Andrea Smith of Help the Homeless RI and Barbara Kalil of the Rhode Island Homeless Advocacy Project also spoke.

Jim Ryczek, Executive Director of the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless, said that Michael’s “last experiences were of being homeless on the streets of Rhode Island, and we believe that is unacceptable.”

“We rededicate ourselves,” continued Ryczek, “to achieving the change necessary to realize our vision of a State of Rhode Island that refuses to let any man, woman or child be homeless.”