RICH – RI Future

March 18, 2016

A vigil for Gus Morais, who died homeless in his car in Pawtucket

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Homelessness kills.

There was a candlelight vigil for Augusto “Gus” Morais, the Pawtucket man who died on February 25 in his car, homeless. Morris had just recently purchased the car and was living in it as he awaited permanent housing.

Elaine Morais spoke briefly but emotionally about her ex-husband, saying, “He was a good man, a good father… I just want to say that if you guys have family or friends please be there for them. Don’t be ashamed of them. Love them. Because you never know. It could be us out there.”

Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien noted that the death took place in his city and said that though he didn’t know Morais, the man’s death would stick with him, and influence the decisions he makes as a Mayor going forward.

The statistics on homelessness, provided by the Rhode Island Homeless Coalition (RICH) are startling and brutal.

People who experience homelessness have a mortality rate three to four times that of the general population.
The average age at death of a homeless person is between 42 and 52 years
Younger women who are homeless have a mortality rate four to 31 times higher than that of women who are housed.
Homeless people are over nine times more likely to commit suicide than the general population
Deaths as a result of traffic accidents are three times as likely, infections twice as likely and falls over three times as likely

Being homeless is incredibly difficult both physically and mentally and has significant impacts on people’s health and well-being.

The easiest way to end homeless is to provide housing for homeless people. Under the state’s Zero: 2016 campaign, Rhode Island housed 475 people. The ultimate goal is to end veterans homelessness by January 2016 and chronic homelessness by the end of 2016. Rhode Island is the first state or community to add the goal of ending family homelessness, which it intends to do by the end of 2017.

You can watch the entire vigil below.

2016-03-18 Homeless Vigil 007 — Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien

March 8, 2016

Social and economic advocate Douglas Matthews

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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).

February 9, 2016

Providence to halt enforcement of anti-panhandling ordinance

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In a major step towards reducing the criminalization of the poor in Rhode Island, the City of Providence has advised the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island that it would halt enforcement of an anti-panhandling ordinance that has led to the harassment and arrest of homeless individuals. The ACLU had called for this action in a letter delivered to Mayor Jorge Elorza two weeks ago, in which it pointed out the ordinance’s dubious constitutionality and its impact on the rights of the poor and the homeless.

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.

February 3, 2016February 4, 2016

Raimondo praised for including homeless bond in budget

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Governor Gina Raimondo has garnered praise from homeless advocates for including a $40 million affordable housing bond in the budget that she presented to the General Assembly last night.

Jim Ryczek, executive director of the RI Coalition for the Homeless released a statement saying, “we appreciate that the Governor recognizes the need for more affordable housing in our state. An affordable housing bond is most certainly one piece of the puzzle and is a good interim step towards our long-term goal of a state where all Rhode Islanders have access to safe, decent housing they can afford. The funding for a housing bond is also a positive step in the right direction to ensure full implementation of Opening Doors RI, the State’s Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness.”

Melina Lodge, Director of Programs for the Housing Network of RI, thanked the Governor “for recognizing the importance of state investment in housing opportunities for low and moderate income Rhode Islanders… Governor Raimondo’s inclusion of an affordable housing bond in her FY 17 budget will not only stimulate the creation of new housing and boost economic growth by creating jobs in the construction, retail and service industries, but will also bring substantial additional outside financial resources into our state.”

According to Lodge, “Data shows that many Rhode Island households continue to struggle to find housing options that are affordable to them. According to HousingWorks RI, two in every five Rhode Island households are cost burdened, spending more than thirty percent of their income on housing.”

January 26, 2016January 26, 2016

Elorza confronted over ‘a disturbing pattern of discrimination’ against homeless

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In the rotunda of City Hall advocates for the homeless gathered to release a new study validating the harassment and discrimination being felt on the streets and to demand that Mayor Elorza immediately instruct the Providence Police to stop their practice of criminalizing homelessness and harassing homeless individuals.

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]

January 6, 2016

Interfaith Vigil at State House proposes ambitious poverty agenda

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2016-01-06 Interfaith Poverty Vigil 02 — Bishop Herson Gonzalez

For the eighth year the Rhode Island Interfaith Coalition to Reduce Poverty held a vigil at the State House near the beginning of the legislative season to, in the words of House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello, “remind all of us in the General Assembly of how important it is to keep the issues related to poverty at the forefront of our agenda.”

The vigil was attended by representatives from a multitude of faiths. Governor Gina Raimondo, Speaker Mattiello and Senate President M Teresa Paiva-Weed all spoke briefly to the crowd. The keynote was delivered by Bishop Herson Gonzalez of the Calvary Worship Center in Woonsocket.

Maxine Richman, co-chair of the RI Interfaith Coalition to Reduce Poverty (Coalition) spoke first, outlining the 2016 Advocacy Platform for the group. She began with a sobering statistic. 14.3 percent of Rhode Islanders live in poverty. That rate climbs to 19.8 percent when we talk about children specifically.

“A 14.3 percent poverty rate is the story for this year,” said Richman, “but it need not be the story for next year.”

The coalition believes that all Rhode Islanders are entitled to affordable housing, nutritious food, accessible healthcare, equitable education and work with decent wages.

Though the General Assembly raised the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) last session, something both Paiva-Weed and Mattiello touted as a great success in their opening remarks Tuesday, RI’s present 12.5 percent rate is a far cry from Connecticut’s EITC of 27.5 percent or Massachusetts’ 23 percent. The Coalition is asking the General Assembly raise the RI EITC to 20 percent.

2016-01-06 Interfaith Poverty Vigil 20 — Governor Raimondo

Channeling yesterday’s loud rally, and on the day that Governor Raimondo has officially broken her campaign promise to issue an executive order allowing undocumented workers to obtain driver’s licenses, the Coalition asked state leaders to take this important step.

Right now low and no income Rhode Island families with children are eligible to receive cash assistance for a maximum of up to 24 months within a five year window. A mother with two children is eligible to receive $554 a month for up to 24 months. When the 24 months are done, the family is cut off, leaving children to live in crushing poverty. The coalition would like to end the 24 month limit.

Also, as they have asked nearly every year and to no avail, the Coalition would like the General Assembly to take action to reform PayDay loans. This is unlikely as long as Speaker Mattiello continues to pretend that “arguments against PayDay lending tend to be ideological in nature.”

The coalition would also like to see an expansion of Child Care Assistance and Early Childhood Education. as of Fall, 2014, for instance, only 34 percent of eligible children were enrolled in Head Start, “with many centers maintaining long waiting lists.”

The Coalition further wants to reduce out-of-school detentions which predominantly target students of color and feed the school-to-prison pipeline. They would also like to expand opportunities for workforce foundational skills and occupational training.

The RI Coalition for the Homeless (RICH) needs adequate funding to implement Opening Doors RI, and would like state leaders to seek a $100 million affordable housing bond.

The Coalition also backs efforts to prevent domestic abusers from accessing guns, a bill that died in committee last year to the consternation of supporters and the embarrassment of the General Assembly.

The Coalition would like to see adequate funding for Senior Centers and lastly, the Coalition wants the General Assembly to maintain the current RIPTA Senior/Disbabled Fare Program, recognizing that balancing the budget of public transit of the backs of the most vulnerable is simply cruel. Paiva-Weed was the only state leader to state that she would work to make this happen. Raimondo vowed to make RIPTA “affordable” which is apparently a number other than free.

“These all sound good, but where do we find the money?” asked Raimondo.

“I am very concerned about imposing a fee on elderly and disabled RIPTA passengers,” said Paiva-Weed, “and I am committed to looking at alternative funding.”

Attempting to explain his statement at last years Interfaith Poverty Vigil where he said that he wants to eliminate the social safety net, Speaker Mattiello spun a vision of a Utopian future world. “When we get the economy to a point where everybody’s thriving,” said the Speaker, “every single family has a wage earner that is successfully feeding the family, and everybody is doing well and is well fed… families are happy… that will be the day we don’t need a safety net. And at that time our safety net will justifiably be smaller.”

Here’s Bishop Herson Gonzalez’s keynote address.

Note: I was fortunate today to get permission from Rachel Simon to run her pictures of the event. So all these pictures are under her 2016 copyright.

And here’s the full vigil.

November 28, 2015November 28, 2015

A vigil for Kerry Soares, who died homeless on the streets

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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.”

DSC_30212015-11-27 Kerry Soares 011 — Reverend Jack Jones

November 9, 2015

New facility will help end veteran homelessness in RI

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The Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless (RICH) is on track to satisfy their goal, outlined in Zero: 2016, of eliminating veteran homelessness by the end of the year. Since January, RICH has housed 163 homeless veterans and today they cut the ribbon on a new building, Veterans for Tomorrow, located at 1115 Douglas Ave in Providence.

Governor Gina Raimondo, as well as Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Representatives Jim Langevin and David Cicilline were on hand for the ribbon cutting ceremony, as were many other politicians. Well over 150 people turned out for the event, to the surprise of many of the speakers.

The best speaker at the ceremony was Larry Crudup, a homeless veteran who served ten years in the Army and ten additional years in the Army Reserves. who finally has a safe and private home to sleep in. “When I first saw the room,” says Crudup, “I fell in love with it.”

The rooms are spacious and come with a small living, dining area, a separate bedroom and a separate bathroom. Also, the facility comes with a community area and a classroom. “It’s better than being by yourself,” said Crudup.

Several of the political speakers made the point that no one who served our country in the military should have to suffer from homelessness. It is hoped that Rhode Island can be the first state to eliminate veteran homelessness this year.

October 29, 2015October 29, 2015

ACLU sues state over level 3 sex offender residency law

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The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island (ACLU) today filed a class action lawsuit in U.S. District Court to challenge the constitutionality of a recently enacted law that makes it a crime for certain sex offenders to reside within 1,000 feet of a school. As part of the suit, the ACLU has requested a restraining order to halt the law’s “inconsistent” and “arbitrary” implementation before any more individuals are uprooted or made homeless.

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.

August 28, 2015August 28, 2015

Homeless advocates confront PVD police over homeless harassment

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More than 50 homeless and community advocates protested and confronted the police on Thursday afternoon in front of CVS near Kennedy Plaza within sight of Providence City Hall. At least 14 police officers were on hand, though no arrests were made. The protesters carried signs demanding an end to “a noticeable increase of harassment of homeless folks around the city.”

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!”

20150827_154840 — Outside Elorza’s office

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.