First Winter Shelter Opens as Homeless Crisis Worsens

Dan Villani, Bruce Yeoman, Bruce Tatarian, Joe Connors, Joe Carroll, Wayne Freeman, Lance Ellis.

Those are the names of eight men who have died on the street this year.

The unprecedented numbers of homeless Rhode Islanders heading into winter last year was a cause of shock and alarm among advocates for homeless prevention, shelter operators and social workers.

The numbers heading into this winter are far worse.

The Diocese of Providence and advocates for the homeless this morning marked the opening of this year's first winter emergency shelter with a call for state leaders to address the state's homeless crisis. And they said what was considered a crisis then is now becoming the new trend, shaped by a difficult economy, bad job market and widespread foreclosures.

In a large room at the Diocese's Emmanuel House in Providence, narrow mats occupied a portion of the floor in front of a podium behind which Bishop Thomas J. Tobin said the Diocese would provide use of the former daycare facility for the second year in a row. He also announced a $5,000 grant from the Catholic Charity Appeal for upgrades "to meet the basic needs of those who will stay here during the upcoming season."

A survey taken on Sept. 28 showed the state has a deficit of 273 shelter spaces for homeless Rhode Islanders. The count also found 191 people living on the streets across the state. The total number of homeless in the state stands at 657, 6 percent more than last year and that's an undercount, said Eric Hirsch, chairman of the Homeless Management Information System.

Forty-one percent of people accessing the shelter system are families. A quarter are children. The system for families is at capacity and families that end up without a place to live are put on a "long waiting list," Hirsch said, or they get vouchers for motel rooms.

"We can't put a family on mats," Hirsch said. "At least we don't, yet."

This year, eight people have died on the streets, said Jean Johnson of House of Hope Community Development Corporation — the agency that operates Harrington Hall, a year-round homeless shelter. Each had their name inked into pillowcases, which were connected by string and hung on the wall to give them a sliver of respect and dignity, two things that get stripped from the lives of those who sleep on the streets.

"These men gave up. Some people thought there would never be a solution for them and thought they would never be able to endure another winter," Johnson said. "It is inhuman for people to die alone in the street."

More than 300 people came through the agency's program so far this year alone, Johnson said. “Over the summer we were routinely seeing over a hundred individuals a night in a facility where our capacity is 88. Unfortunately once we run out of beds, guys are sleeping sitting upright in chairs around a table."

Calls to the 211 hotline operated by the United Way show a staggering increase in calls for housing issues. 34,747 people called for a housing related issue so far in 2011, an increase of 22 percent over 2010. They were not yet homeless, but looking for permanent housing.

The number of people facing foreclosure and in danger of becoming homeless increased 53 percent to 7,072. And the number of homeless callers looking for shelter increased 24 percent to 21,289.

“Given the dramatic rise in the number of people calling us for help, this winter may be one of the worst we’ve ever seen,” said Anthony Maione, president and CEO of United Way of Rhode Island. “We’re speaking with hundreds of people each day, many of whom have never been in need before.”

Some of those callers have said they used to contribute to the United Way and now find themselves in need.

Maione announced the United Way will make a $20,000 contribution to the state's Emergency Winter Shelter Task Force, which still has a funding gap of $126,000 for emergency winter shelters this winter. And he asked rhetorical questions: can you imagine being outside today in the cool rain. Can you imagine sleeping outside tonight?

"For [many,] it's not a rhetorical question," he said.

Advocates called on non-profits, businesses, individual donors and the faith community to respond to the call for help.

"The magnitude of this challange requires all segments of the community to come together to provide a generous and coordinated response," Tobin said. "Clearly it has to be a team effort."

And they noted the shelter program is merely a Band-Aid for a persistent problem that can be solved.

"The fact is it costs more to keep people on the street," Hirsch said, estimating a nearly $8,000-per-year savings per person with a solution that provides permanent housing and even a case manager.

On the street, homeless people face a mortality rate four times the norm. They are unable to pay for emergency room visits and mental health services.

“It is morally wrong to allow people to die on our streets when it would cost very little to give them a warm, clean bed to sleep in. We need to provide emergency shelter now, but over the long run it will be most cost effective to provide permanent housing for those families and individuals who cannot access what is a very expensive rental housing market,” Hirsch said.

John Joyce of the RI Homeless Advocacy Project said he is "disgusted our state government would put Rhode Islanders in peril" and said the problem isn't a money issue.

"It's a human issue," Joyce said. "We'll be out there this year to get someone a mat but our dream is to give them keys. We all know this is a solvable problem. It's called affordable housing."