On Wednesday afternoon, close to 30 housing advocates and unhoused community members gathered at the Rhode Island State House to demand that Governor Dan McKee declare Rhode Island’s homelessness crisis a state of emergency.
The demonstration was organized by members of the Rhode Island Homeless Advocacy Project and comes as colder weather approaches with close to 600 unhoused Rhode Islanders currently living outside — a figure provided at the rally by RIHAP Interim Director Eric Hirsch.
“The weather is turning, and it was below freezing last night,” said Kevin Simon, a member of the Mathewson Street Housing Justice Committee at the rally. “We don’t need shelter and housing tomorrow, we need it right now and we need it today.”
Figures from January estimate that close to 2,500 Rhode Islanders are unhoused , according to the Rhode Island Coalition to End Homelessness’s point-in-time count. The organization also identified that 54 people died while unhoused in the state in 2023.
“Governor McKee, we are demanding that you provide shelter spaces so that not a single person in our community dies while living outside this winter, next year or forever moving forward,” Simon said at the rally.
Hirsch attributed the state’s large number of unhoused people to “the failure of the housing market to provide housing for people with low income.” In 2023, Rhode Island was the state that saw the greatest increase in median value of single-family homes, according to a recent HousingWorks R.I. report.
A state of emergency would allow state officials to “cut through” zoning and regulatory challenges and “expedite providing shelters to unhoused people,” Hirsch told demonstrators. He added that RIHAP has been demanding that McKee declares a state of emergency since September 2021.
Hirsch emphasized the need to open affordable options like ECHO Village, a grouping of 45 pallet shelters — temporary homes that can be set up in a couple of hours. The homes were constructed in March, but have not yet welcomed residents due to fire regulation concerns.
“We really don’t understand why there isn’t more of a sense of urgency, why there isn’t the ability to understand that we should remove all barriers to getting a roof over people’s heads,” Hirsch added.
Emily Marshall, chief of information and public relations for the Rhode Island Department of Housing, wrote in an email to The Herald that the department “acknowledges the urgency and importance of the concerns raised.” She added that the department’s work to address homelessness includes “efforts to prevent homelessness before it begins, sustain essential services such as temporary emergency shelter and collaborate with local leaders and municipalities to ensure comprehensive support for those in need.”
Marshall did not comment on whether McKee will declare a state of emergency.
Other speakers at the rally also voiced frustration over failed attempts to create more housing in the state.
Rachel Jordan, who has tried a number of different shelters and has slept in encampments, said she just wants a place “to stay warm” and not “feel cold” everyday.
Karen Kily, another speaker at the rally, shared that she has been unhoused since 2018, despite previously owning two houses. “I am 63 years old, and I am still working,” she said. “I am homeless, and nothing is being done.”
While Hirsch has said that there is much more work to be done, he acknowledged that government officials have taken steps to address the homelessness crisis. Last week, Rhode Islanders voted to approve a $120 million housing bond to fund the construction and redevelopment of housing. The McKee administration also approved an extensive housing package in August, while the city of Providence committed $55.6 million in 2022 to build and revamp housing.
But advocates say they have not yet reaped the benefits of these programs, with many still resorting to building temporary homes and creating encampments despite frequent police raids that occur without appropriate notice, Hirsch said.
Mayor Brett Smiley has cleared out several homeless encampments and previously said that it is the City’s policy to break up any encampments .
Hirsch said that Smiley met with RIHAP and unhoused community members last week and reaffirmed a commitment to providing unhoused people with a 30-day notice to clear their encampment, as opposed to immediate removals.
Members of Brown’s students group Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere also attended the rally.
San Kwon ’25, who leads HOPE’s advocacy team, shared that the organization often assists RIHAP in times of need, highlighting Brown students’ unique “positionality in Rhode Island” to show up and support local advocacy groups.
“We believe that housing is a human right,” Kwon said, calling on McKee to “show empathy and act on it,” he added.
Sanai Rashid was raised in Brooklyn and now lives in Long Island, New York. As an English and History concentrator, she is always looking for a way to amplify stories and histories previously unheard. When she is not writing, you can find her trying new pizza places in Providence or buying another whale stuffed animal.
