News Digest: Housing touches every aspect of our lives, from business and education to health and our local economy.
HousingWorks RI at RWU, Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless, Housing Network of Rhode Island, and the Public Housing Association of RI, joined together to communicate the latest news on housing and homelessness in Rhode Island.COVID-19 resources can be found on RICH’s webpage: https://www.rihomeless.org/covid-19Homes RI curates a calendar of community events:
To check it out, or to feature an event, click here.
Affordable Housing
Escalating affordable housing shortage leaves low income families with few options during pandemic
September 22, 2020As the coronavirus swept Rhode Island, Lawrence tuned in to Gov. Gina Raimondo’s press briefings religiously.
“I watch her every single – when she was on three times a week and then it was on two times a week – I used to tape it or I would watch it live,” he said.
He was listening on a Saturday in early May, as Raimondo announced the state would be allocating $1.5 million towards rent assistance for low income tenants affected by the COVID-19 emergency.
“As soon as the governor said it, I completed everything,” he remembered.
To view the complete article, featured on The Public’s Radio,click here.
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Landlords say they can’t afford ban on evictions
September 7, 2020
Landlords are feeling the pain and worry more is to come in the months ahead following the Trump administration’s imposition of a moratorium on evictions for tenants who say they are unable to pay their rent due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s going to harm landlords. It’s going to kill some of them,” said Michael Crane, a Providence lawyer who represents private and public housing entities as well as so-called “mom and pops,” owners of multifamily housing who rely on rent to help make their monthly mortgage.
It’s those property owners, many of whom purchased multifamily houses in a bid to live out the American dream of home-ownership, who are likely to be the hardest hit, as a tenant’s missed rent can set the mortgage payment behind, he said.
To view the complete article, featured in Providence Journal,click here.
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A tenants’ primer on temporary halt to evictions in R.I.
September 5, 2020
President Donald Trump’s administration this week put a temporary halt on residential evictions in an effort to keep people in their homes and contain the further spread of the coronavirus. The Centers for Disease Control’s director, Dr. Robert Redfield, signed the moratorium order declaring it was a matter of public health and safety, exercising authority the White House says Congress delegated to the CDC and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to combat the spread of communicable diseases, such as COVID-19.
So what does it mean to tenants in Rhode Island? Here is a primer.
To view the complete article, featured in Providence Journal,click here.
Homelessness
As colder weather approaches, housing challenges build for Newport County homeless
September 22, 2020NEWPORT — Thirty four homeless adults and 12 children were moved off the streets and placed in emergency motel housing for the past six months of the novel coronavirus pandemic, and while half have been placed in more long-term housing, the other half still need shelter.
“We’re halfway home with these last 17 folks,” Jamie Lehane, president and CEO of Newport Mental Health, said Monday. Seventeen homeless adults and two families in Newport County still need longer-term housing.
Motel costs were covered via local and state grants. But, “the well is dry,” Lehane said Monday. Funds will be depleted by Oct. 1.
To read the full article, featured in the Newport Daily News, click here.
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Cranston woman uses her porch to help the homeless
August 27, 2020
CRANSTON, R.I. (WJAR) — A Cranston woman has used her porch as a way of helping the homeless.
While many people take pride in the way their porch looks, Andrea Smith, the executive director of “Help the Homeless RI,” takes pride in what her porch does.
“A friend of mine said one day, ‘You know, Do you ever think about all of the beautiful things that’ve happened because of this porch and how many people you’ve helped?'” said Smith. “The convenience of having an enclosed porch means people can drop off and pick up from my porch at any time and it’s protected from the elements.”
To view the full article, featured on WJAR 10,click here.
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Where to turn? Pandemic has made life even harder for R.I.’s homeless
August 23, 2020
Rod Point needs to take two buses to get from North Kingstown, where he’s living on the streets, to Providence. That’s even more of a haul when he’s got his backpack bulging with his belongings.
But it is worth the trip: On select mornings in the capital city, the advocacy organization House of Hope operates a trailer specially outfitted with two showers. It is one of the only opportunities Point has to bathe in the midst of a hot summer and a continuing pandemic.
Without such basic necessities like a shower, “you don’t feel like a man,” Point said recently, drying the last remnants of water from behind his ears after his 12-minute allotment of time had run out. “You don’t feel right.”
To view the full article, featured in Providence Journal, click here.
The 2020 Housing Fact Book marks the 16th edition of this annual publication. For the first time ever, this year’s release will be held virtually. The release event will consist of a morning session and keynote presentation.
At the 2020 Housing Fact Book Release event, HousingWorks RI will host Diane Yentel, President and CEO at National Low Income Housing Coalition, a membership organization dedicated solely to achieving socially just public policy that ensures people with the lowest incomes in the United States have affordable and decent homes, as our keynote speaker.
To register for the 2020 Housing Fact Book Release
and Keynote Presentation, click here.
The Housing Network of Rhode Island, HousingWorks RI at Roger Williams University, Public Housing Association of Rhode Island, and Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless are part of Homes RI, a collaborative, cross-sector coalition of local organizations and community stakeholders that is actively working on strategies to increase investments in affordable homes and community development across Rhode Island.
Homes RI supports increased state funding for the construction and preservation of affordable homes, funding for rental subsidies for low and very low income households, increased funding for necessary supportive services for those placed in permanent housing, and the removal of legal, administrative, regulatory and economic barriers to quality housing.
For more information about Homes RI, contact Katie West
at the Housing Network of Rhode Island.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced that a Providence man has been sentenced in Providence County Superior Court to serve...
