Homeless Rates Go Down in 2013, but Problem is Far From Over

The Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless is about to announce their annual report on homelessness in the state, and for the first time in years, they finally have a sliver of good news to report.

The good news is that the number of homeless in Rhode Island is actually decreasing. 

Why?

Karen Jeffreys of the RI Coalition for the Homeless said a lot of it has to do with a major effort to house individuals. A total of 125 people chronically homeless people are either being housed or in the process of being houses directly from state funding.

"The good news is that the funding we advocated for in last year's legislative session is going to house approximately 125 of these more chronic homeless Rhode Islanders," Jeffreys said. "We are asking the Legislature to continue funding rental vouchers this year as this program has been proven to be incredibly successful and save the state money, too."

Also at the planned Wednesday press conference, representatives from the coalition will launch a new program, "State House Project Homeless Connect" which will connect homeless people to services they need.

"Our goal is to create connections with people that improve their quality of life and link them to permanent housing solutions," Jeffreys said.

But the data isn't all good. It shows that the most chronic homeless are staying in shelters for longer periods of time. These are mainly shelters that are meant for emergencies and short-term situations.

The press event is at 3:30 p.m. and will include several formerly homeless Rhode Islanders who have benefited from the rental voucher program passed by the General Assembly last session.