Approximately 62% of lawmakers in the Rhode Island General Assembly are calling on Gov. Dan McKee to declare a state of emergency this winter for the homeless population. (Getty image)
Nearly 50 state lawmakers called on Gov. Dan McKee to declare homelessness a public health emergency before the weekend began. Their ranks swelled Monday as Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio, Majority Leader Valarie J. Lawson, and Majority Whip David P. Tikoian and 21 other senators signed on to the cause.
“Your leadership is needed now to protect and save the lives of Rhode Islanders across our state, including our working class neighbors, our children, and our veterans,” the Senate leaders wrote in a statement to the governor.
The three Senate leaders emphasized the importance of immediate action to save lives of people who are otherwise exposed to outdoor winter cold temperatures, calling on McKee to address the state’s housing crisis using the resources the General Assembly provides to the executive branch.
“Declaring a state of emergency would empower the governor to work across and through state agencies to mobilize resources, streamline solutions, and provide immediate relief to the growing number of individuals and families experiencing homelessness,” they wrote.
The governor has resisted the calls.
“Common misconception is that an emergency declaration would make more federal funding available for the situation and it would not,” McKee said during a State House press conference on Friday, Jan. 10.
McKee’s administration has faced scrutiny from advocates for homeless people over a lack of emergency shelters as a polar vortex hit the state over the last week. Senators suggested the governor allow “temporary exemptions to the fire code” and encouraged the governor to post a “24-hour fire detail at Echo Village until the fire suppression system is operational there.”
Gaps in the state’s fire and building codes and delayed supply shipments have stalled the opening of ECHO Village, a community of 45 pallet shelter cabins off Victor Street near Route 146 in Providence, until later this winter, said the state’s newest Housing Secretary Deborah Goddard. Fire suppression units for the cabins were delivered in late December and installation was ongoing as of last week.
While a declaration could get some of the red tape out of the way, McKee said waiving fire safety regulations could lead to a similar tragedy that led to the deaths of 100 people at the Station Nightclub in West Warwick in 2003.
“Unfortunately, Rhode Islanders know all too well that worst-case scenario for neglecting fire regulations,” McKee said at Friday’s press conference.
Senate leaders also urged the governor to work with the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority to provide unhoused people free transit to shelters where beds are available.
Nudge from House speaker
On Friday, 46 legislators from both chambers of the General Assembly signed a petition urging McKee to reconsider his position.
“Your leadership is needed now to protect and save the lives of Rhode Islanders across our state, including our working class neighbors, our children, and our veterans,” they said in their statement to the governor Friday.
“In the past year, 54 Rhode Islanders have died because they resided outside in the elements. More have lost their lives because of diseases or illnesses they got as a result of their being homeless. It is our duty as Rhode Islander lawmakers to ensure every single Rhode Islander, no matter if they have a physical permanent address or they are our neighbors residing outside, have elected officials at every level of government willing to prioritize legislation and actions to protect them,” the legislators continued.
House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi did not sign the petition, but has also encouraged McKee to at least consider an emergency declaration.
“People are outside suffering in very cold temperatures,” he said in a statement Monday. “If a state of emergency helps streamline the process or makes additional resources available, I support it wholeheartedly.”
The Providence City Council has also joined the charge, approving a non-binding resolution on Jan. 8 calling on the governor to issue the declaration “to prevent, intervene, and support the recovery of those experiencing homelessness.”
“We need immediate investment to increase the availability of life-saving short-term solutions, and we need to come together at every level of government to address decades-long systemic failures,” City Council President Rachel Miller said in a statement after the resolution passed. “Further inaction will cost lives.”
In addition to their call for an emergency declaration, Senate leaders have asked Housing and Municipal Government Chairman Jacob Bissaillon, a Providence Democrat, and Government Oversight Committee Chairman Mark McKenney, a Warwick Democrat, to schedule a joint hearing to review the state’s plan to address homelessness on Tuesday, Jan. 21.
The agenda includes reviewing the Rhode Island Department of Housing’s preparedness and response to homelessness, its proposed reorganization, and the latest progress with ECHO Village.
The Black Lives Matter Rhode Island Political Action Committee will also call on McKee to declare homelessness a public health emergency at an event billed as The People’s State of the State on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the State Rotunda. The event takes place an hour before McKee’s State of the State address.
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